


Unyielding Desire

by CapaldiCrazy



Series: The Desire Series [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Love Triangles, Sequel, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2020-04-05 07:19:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 64,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19043800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapaldiCrazy/pseuds/CapaldiCrazy
Summary: Three months after 'Impetuous Desire' ended, Clara Oswald is dealing with a new job and trying to forget her affair with her former professor, John 'the Doctor' Smith.  But forgetting him is proving difficult when she meets her new client.  Will she return to the Doctor, or find love with a new man?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy to finally be posting the sequel to Impetuous Desire! I'll be updating this story every Monday and Friday. So please subscribe and be sure to not miss an update!

Clara Oswald looked at the clock on her computer and noticed that it was lunch time.  She glanced around the office to see if her boss, Donna Noble, was around to tell her she was going to pop out for a bit, but couldn’t see the redheaded woman anywhere.  Clara had been lucky to land a job at Noble Paradox, an ad agency, after she finished uni.   She was even luckier to have met Donna, a slightly older woman in her mid to late forties, whom was a force to be reckoned with in the industry.  Clara was happy to have such a strong independent woman as a boss and mentor and not a day went by that she didn’t learn something from her. 

“Hey Sherrie, have you seen Donna?” Clara asked her officemate. 

“I think she’s still at her meeting,” Sherrie answered. 

“If she comes back, can you tell her I went out for lunch,” Clara asked as she grabbed her bag. 

“Sure thing,” Sherrie replied. 

Clara walked towards the lifts and pulled out her mobile while she waited for it to arrive and quickly fired off a text. 

 **_Running late.  Be there in 5._ ** 

The lift arrived and she stepped in, hearing a ding she looked down to see a text. 

 **_Okay. See you soon._ ** 

She put her phone back in her bag and stared at the numbers as they counted down, listening to the horrible lift music.  Finally, the doors opened on the ground floor and she came face to face with the woman she had been looking for. 

“Going for lunch?”  Donna asked as Clara stepped off. 

“Yeah, I’ll be back in an hour.” 

“Great, we have a new client coming at 3 and I want you in on the meeting.” 

“Absolutely,” Clara replied.  “See you in a bit.” 

She continued on her short walk down to the café and waved when she spotted her lunch companion. 

“Sorry about that,” she said as she sat down. 

“No need to apologise.  You’re a busy career woman now,” Bill replied, causing Clara to laugh. 

“Not as busy as trying to start your own business,” Clara added.  “How’s that going?” 

“Hard, but I do enjoy not having a boss.  What about you?” 

“Really, really well,” Clara couldn’t help but smile thinking about how much she loved her job. 

The two uni friends chatted over lunch, catching up on all the gossip of their friend Jack, who had taken a PR job with a company called Torchwood.  He had been a great source of entertainment for both Bill and Clara last year and they both missed getting to see him so much. 

“I think this guy might be the one,” Bill said, talking about Jack’s latest conquest. 

“Get out!”  Clara exclaimed. 

“I'm serious.  He can’t stop talking about him.  Ianto this, Ianto that.  Of course he won’t admit it, but he speaks very differently about him than all the other men he’s been with.” 

“Well good for him,” Clara was sincerely happy for him.  “What about you?  Still with Heather?” 

“I am,” Bill said with a smile.  “She’s really great and very supportive of me and my dreams.” 

“That’s great, Bill.”  Clara replied.  “How is she?” 

“Good.  She’s busy with her last year of uni and can’t wait to finish.  Oh that reminds me, she has the Doctor as a lecturer this year.” 

Oh the Doctor! John Allan Smith.  It was in his class that she met Bill and Jack last year.  It was also his class that caused her so much heart break.  Well, not so much the class, more him.   

“Oh, good for her.”  Clara answered, trying to hide any feelings she might have for the man.  However, Bill was a clever girl and looked at her intently. 

“Okay, I have to ask,” she said.  “What the hell was the deal with you and the Doctor?” 

“What on Earth are you talking about?”  Clara asked, trying to pretend as if she didn’t know what the other girl was implying. 

“Jack may have been oblivious to the looks you two would give each other, but I wasn’t.” 

Clara wondered if she could tell Bill the truth.  What would be the harm?  She wasn’t a student any more, nor was she. 

“Come on, Clara.  I saw the way the two of you were at the Royal Blood concert.  He was practically undressing you with his eyes!” 

“It’s complicated.”  Clara finally answered. 

Bill’s face lit up at finally getting some kind of acknowledgement that she was right.  “I knew it!  Did you shag him?” 

“Maybe.” 

“That’s a yes.  When?  Where?”  Bill said excitedly.  “Spill it Clara!” 

“Look, I’m not going to go into details and this absolutely stays with you!  You cannot, and I mean this, you cannot tell Heather or Jack.  You swear?” 

“I swear.  You have my word, I promise.” 

“I met him in a pub before I decided to go back to uni and had a one-night stand with him.” 

“Oh my god!”  Bill yelled and Clara gave her a harsh look to quiet her down.  “Sorry, just, I didn’t see that coming.  I thought the two of you had gotten together after, not before our class even started.” 

“No.  I was just as shocked as he was when we saw each other again.  And nothing happened between us until after that concert.” 

“Wow!  I don’t know what to say.  Are you two still together?” 

“That’s the complicated bit, but the short answer is no.”   

Complicated didn’t begin to describe her relationship with the Doctor.  She didn’t want to get into it with Bill and felt like that story was better told with a bottle of wine, not lunch.   

“Oh Clara, you’ve got to tell me what happened.” 

“Why don’t you come for dinner on Friday night and I promise I will tell you everything.  I need to get back to the office and I don’t feel like getting into it now.”   

“Sounds good.  Heather has to work that night, so it’s perfect,” Bill answered. 

“Great, I’ll text you closer to the end of the week to make a plan.” 

The girls finished their lunch and Clara made her way back to the office.  Since Bill had brought it up, she couldn’t stop thinking about the Doctor and thought back to the last time she had seen him. 

************* 

 _“Please, just let me take you for coffee.  Just one coffee and nothing more, I promise.”  He gave her the saddest eyes._  

 _“I really don’t know.”_  

 _“Please.”  He begged, and she could hear the desperate yearning in his voice, which suddenly made her feel very satisfied.  He wanted this_ _way more than she did, almost to the point of need and she had the power to give it to him or not._  

 _She shook her head, finally coming to a decision, “I can’t.”_  

 _At that moment she saw the hope escape his eyes and his body slump at the rejection.  She should have felt good about it, but she didn’t.  Not entirely, because the truth was, she really did miss him and seeing him again was starting to evoke all kinds of emotions._  

 _“But maybe some other time,” she added._  

 _“Really?”_  

 _“Why don’t you give me your number and when I’m ready for coffee, I’ll call you.”  This way the ball was in her court and she had the control to see him or not._  

 _She pulled her mobile out of her pocket and he gave her his number, which she thought was kind of odd that they had slept together and not once did they ever exchange numbers._  

 _“I don’t know when I’ll call, or even if I will, but I know I just can’t do it now.”_  

 _“That’s fair,” he answered._  

************* 

That had been three months ago and she still hadn’t called him.  Sure, it had almost happened a couple of times, but she would always end up stopping herself once she remembered the pain she had felt at finding out he was a cheater.  A pain that she thought she was over but would occasionally seep back in. 

She got back to the office and shook her mind of the Doctor, which was always difficult because once he was in there it was hard to get him out.  She put her bag down and went to see Donna in her office to get some information about the client they were meeting with. 

“Clara, good,” Donna said as she looked up from her computer when Clara knocked on her door frame. “Have a seat.” 

“So who’s the client we’re meeting with?”  She asked as she sat down. 

“An ice cream company that began in New York, thirty years ago.  The owner is originally from Scotland and he built the company up to a multi-million dollar business there.  Now he’s looking to return to the UK and open up a chain of shops and ice cream trucks.”  

“Okay, and what would you like me to do?” 

“I want you to take the lead on this.” 

“Seriously?”  Clara questioned.  She hadn’t done that yet and wasn’t sure if she felt confident enough to do it. 

“Yes, seriously.”  Donna answered.  “I’ve been very impressed with you over the last couple of months and I think you’re ready for this.” 

“Wow, thank you,” she answered, flattered that her boss had the confidence in her.  “I look forward to the challenge.” 

“Great.  Now take this and read up on the business before he gets here.”  Donna said as she handed her a file. 

Clara took it and went back to her desk to read it over.  She had worked on a few campaigns as part of her training as a junior account manager and was told that when the time was right, she would be given her own account to work on, but she never imagined it would be this soon.  After reading through everything as thoroughly as she could, she jotted down some notes and questions she wanted to ask the owner, when he came in.  She felt a tad nervous at being given this responsibility, but knew that she could do it.  She also knew that it wasn’t a major account, which is why Donna was giving it to her, but she still wanted to create a successful campaign. 

Her desk phone rang and it was Donna telling her it was time for the meeting.  She made her way back to her boss’ office and when she walked in, she noticed a slender man, with short grey hair sitting across from Donna’s desk. 

“Clara, great.  I’d like you to meet the owner of Mondasian Ice Cream,” Donna said. 

The man stood up and turned around to greet Clara, who stood stunned, seeing the Doctor standing before her.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely remarks about the first chapter and being excited to see the Doctor and Clara back again. Hold on to your hats, things are about to get good!

What the hell was going on, was all that Clara could think?  The Doctor didn’t own an ice cream company, so why on earth was he here?  How the hell did he find out where she was working and did he think this would be some clever way to win her back? What kind of twisted game was this?  

“Hello,” the man said as he extended his hand.  “I’m James Smith.” 

Clara took his hand and shook it, while she continued to stare at him; his voice throwing her off because it almost sounded like he was trying to put on a fake American accent. 

“Clara, you okay?”  Donna asked worriedly, clearly seeing the shocked look on her face. 

“Yeah, sorry,” she replied, shaking her head; trying to snap out of it.  “It’s nice to meet you James.” 

She shook his hand and then the two sat across from Donna’s desk.  She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on and she really didn’t know how she could continue this meeting, but she knew for certain that if he was going to play this game, she had no choice but to go along with it for now.  She couldn’t blow this opportunity and needed to be as professional as possible in front of Donna, but the second she got him alone she would rip him a new one. 

Donna began the meeting and explained that Clara would be James’ main point of contact going forward.  Clara was trying very hard to focus on what Donna was saying, but it was so difficult, with the Doctor sitting next to her pretending to not know her.  She couldn’t help but notice that he made an effort to make slight changes to his appearance, his hair was the shortest she had ever seen him wear it, no glasses, and he was wearing what appeared to be an expensive black suit.  She turned back to her note book and jotted down some words, to at least make it look like she was paying attention.  Luckily, she was with it enough to notice when Donna turned the meeting over to her. 

“Thanks, Donna.”  She said as she turned towards the Doctor and started asking him questions about his business and what he was hoping to achieve in London. 

“These are all really great questions Clara, but unfortunately I don’t have the time right now to go into the details.  Would we be able to schedule another meeting, say in a couple of days?” 

Of course he wouldn’t be able to answer them because there was no business, but she would continue to go along with him.  “Absolutely, I can get in touch with your assistant and set up a time.” 

“No need,” he replied as he took out a business card and handed it to her.  “Never liked the idea of an assistant.  I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy myself.” 

“Great.  I'll be in touch,” Clara replied. 

“Perfect,” he answered as he stood up and the women in the room did the same.  “Donna, it was a pleasure to meet you,” he reached across the desk to shake her hand, “and Clara I look forward to working with you.” 

Clara shook his hand and couldn’t help but notice this time that it felt different than usual, stronger, a little rougher, but still the same long fingers. 

“You as well,” she answered. 

He walked out and she couldn’t help but watch him leave, feeling the anger boil inside her. 

“Clara,” Donna said drawing her attention back into the office. “You sure you can do this?” 

“Yes, absolutely,” she replied.  What was she going to do?  Should she tell Donna that this was a fake company set up as some elaborate plan to get her back?  No, she couldn’t say anything to her until she had more information. “Sorry about that, it’s just that he looks like someone I know and it kind of threw me.” 

“Okay, but if at any point think you can’t do this, you need to let me know.” 

“It won’t be necessary, Donna.  I've got this.” 

Clara went back to her desk and immediately grabbed her mobile.  Without any hesitation she rang the Doctor, wanting answers and wanting them now.  The phone continued to ring until his voicemail kicked in, and she hung up, angry that he didn’t answer.  She needed to get to the bottom of this, but had no way of reaching him if he wasn’t going to pick up.  She banged her head down on the desk out of complete frustration. Then she got an idea.  JD.  He might know what the Doctor was up to or at least be able to find out, so she grabbed her mobile again and rang him. 

“Hey Clara!”  He answered the phone happily. 

“JD, when was the last time you spoke to the Doctor?”  

“And hello to you too,” he replied trying to point out her rudeness, but she didn’t have time for pleasantries. “Why?” 

“Please just answer the question.” 

“I don’t know, maybe a couple of weeks ago briefly at a faculty meeting.  Why?” 

“Because he was just here in my office pretending to be the owner of an ice cream business.” 

“Say what now?”  JD replied clearly confused.  “Clara, that’s ridiculous and impossible.  He’s in a class right now.” 

“What?  But he was just here,” she replied even more confused than she was before.  

“Clara I can assure he wasn’t and why on Earth would he be pretending to be a businessman?” 

“I don’t know, but I swear JD, it was him.  Well him trying to do an American accent.” 

“It really doesn’t sound like something he would do, Clara.  Sure he’s desperate to win you back, but not that way.”   

“I know it sounds mad, but this man looked exactly like him, except for short hair and a nice suit.”  Clara said, trying to convince JD she wasn’t crazy.  How could it not be him? 

“Are you sure?” 

“I have never been so sure.  I mean, if he had a twin, I would have sworn it was him.” 

A twin.  Could it be?  She really didn’t know much about the Doctor’s family, so it could be possible, but you’d think at one point in their conversations he would have said he had a twin brother. 

“Do you want me to talk to him?” 

“Thanks JD, but I think I want to talk to him myself and get to the bottom of this.”  Clara answered.  

“Okay, but when you do please let me know.”  JD replied. 

Clara ended her call and immediately started researching James Smith.  Not much was coming up, other than what she had read earlier about his business and she was disappointed she couldn’t find any information about his background.  She glanced at her clock and saw that it was only four and she still had another couple of hours left of work.  Great.  There was no way she was getting anything done before six.  She picked up her mobile and sent a text to Amy. 

 **_Clara:_ ** **_OMG! Huge thing happened at work today!_ ** 

That would pique Amy’s interest.  Clara turned back to her computer and started doing some research for the ice cream campaign.  If James Smith was indeed who he said he was, then she needed to take this job seriously.  She was scanning through images when her mobile dinged. 

 **_Amy:_ ** **_Well don’t leave me bloody hanging!_ ** 

Clara chuckled at her friend’s response. 

 **_Clara:_ ** **_How about I come over after work and tell you about it._ ** 

 **_Amy:_ ** **_This better be good if you’re making me wait that long._ ** 

 **_Clara:_ ** **_It is. I promise.  See you in a few._ ** 

Clara went back to her task, jotting down some notes as she went and even sketching out a few ideas.  She wasn’t much of an artist, but she could at least draw well enough to get her ideas across.  Just before it was almost time for her to go, she decided to send James an email to reschedule their meeting for Thursday afternoon.  If she couldn’t talk to the Doctor before then, then maybe she might be able to get some information from James.  

************* 

“Bloody hell, Clara!”  Amy exclaimed, her face in complete awe.  “Why do you always get yourself into these situations?” 

“I don’t get myself into them!”  Clara responded defensively.  “They find me.  I mean, he’s the one who walked into my office with the Doctor’s face.” 

“Still.  What are you going to do?” 

“What can I do, Amy?  I can’t refuse this campaign.  It’s a huge opportunity to prove myself to Donna.” 

“But who is he, if he’s not the Doctor?  You need to find out if the Doctor has a twin.”  Amy said as she turned towards the kitchen door, seeing Rory walk in with Charlotte. 

“The Doctor has a twin?”  Rory said as he passed the baby to Clara. 

“Clara doesn’t know for sure, but met a new client today who looks exactly like him.” 

“No way.”  He replied as he grabbed plates out of the cupboard to set the table. 

“Look, obviously he’s his twin.  JD already confirmed he couldn’t be the Doctor and it’s not like he’s a clone for crying out loud.  Not to mention, they have the same last name.” 

“But don’t you want to know why the Doctor never mentioned he has a brother, let alone a twin?”  Amy said as she started dishing out food. 

Clara put Charlotte in her high chair and took a seat at the table.  “Of course I want to know, but the only way I can find out is to talk to the Doctor.” 

“Well you can’t do that.”  Amy said.  Clara knew Amy hated him for what he did to her two friends and hoped he would be out of their lives forever. 

“So Clara, are you going to have to see this man very much?”  Rory asked. 

“Afraid so.” 

“And how is that going to be for you?  He’s going to be a constant reminder of the Doctor.”  Rory stated. 

“Well he doesn’t sound like the Doctor.  Not completely.”  Amy gave her a perplexed look.  “He has this weird half American, half Scottish accent.” 

“Okay, but aside from that, he’s identical?”  Rory questioned.  All Clara did was nod.  “I hate to say it Clara, but you need to talk to the Doctor.” 

“Rory!  She can’t do that!”  Amy yelled at him.  “The man lied to her about his fiancée, who is our other friend Rose, if I must remind you?” 

“You don’t need to remind me, Amy.  I’m well aware of what happened, but she’s not going to be able to focus on her job until she knows the truth.  Not to mention the fact that she doesn’t need to project any feelings she has for the Doctor onto her client.” 

Amy continued to glare at her husband.  “Why do you have to be so bloody clever?” 

“It’s why you married me.”  Rory smiled at his wife. 

Rory made a valid point.  She had this weird mix of emotions when it came to John Smith and she really didn’t need to be mixing that up with James. 

“Look Clara, no one is saying that you need to be friends with him, but maybe just try and talk to him to find out what’s going on.”  Rory said. 

“What’s to say he would even tell me the truth?”  Clara replied. 

“There’s only one way to find out.”  Amy added. 

************* 

Clara got home from dinner and decided to listen to some music, while she did a little more research on ice cream advertising.  She scanned through her vinyl collection and stopped when she saw the Frank Sinatra album the Doctor gave her the last time she saw him.  She hadn’t actually listened to it and thought that it might be good background music, so she took it out and put it on her turn table.  The crooning, warm voice of Frank hit her ears and she felt transported to a time that she could only imagine was simpler.  She changed into yoga pants and an old Rolling Stones t-shirt before she settled into her couch with her laptop and a notebook.  However, despite being ready to work, it just wasn’t happening, not once she started focusing on the lyrics that were blasting out of her stereo. 

 _I'd tried so, not to give in_    
_And I said to myself this affair it never will go so well_    
_But why should I try to resist when baby I know so well_    
_That I've got you under my skin_  

“Oh bloody hell!”  She said out loud and threw her head back against her couch.  He had told her that this album meant a lot to him, which she had assumed was because of the memories it brought back of his parents, but now she knew it was because of her too.  The man was shite at talking about his feelings, but boy did he have a way of communicating through songs. 

 _Strangers in the night_    
_Exchanging glances_    
_Wondering in the night_    
_What were the chances_    
_We'd be sharing love_    
_Before the night was through?_    
_Something in your eyes_    
_Was so inviting_    
_Something in your smile_    
_Was so exciting_    
_Something in my heart told me I must have you_  

That song made her think back to the first time she and the Doctor met and the amazing sex they had in his hotel room. The way his hands felt as they ran over her hot flesh.  The way his lips felt as he marked her body with kisses.  She could feel herself getting turned on by the memories and needed to change the music fast.  As she was about to get up and take the album off, her mobile chimed, indicating she had an email from her work account.  It was a message from James... 

 _Dear Clara,_  

 _It was lovely meeting you today and I look forward to working with you.  I can meet with you on Thursday, but the only time I’m free is at lunch.  Would we be able to meet then?  I’m afraid that it’s been some time since I’ve been in London and I’m still trying to get oriented, so I’m unable to recommend a restaurant_ _._ _I'll leave that decision with you_ _._  

 _I look forward to your response._  

 _James_  

A lunch meeting, she had been to a couple with Donna, but never one on her own.  She wasn’t entirely sure she could do that and would need to check on what the protocol was on this sort of thing.  However, the idea of having lunch with James intrigued her and she now knew that she needed to talk to the Doctor because she needed to stop these two men from blending into the same man in her mind.   The last thing she needed was to be falling for a client just because he looked like the man she was once falling in love with. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Alright that’s it for today.  See you next Wednesday.”  The Doctor said to his class as he let them go for the day.

He was packing up his bag and about to head out when he noticed someone enter the room.

“I thought you weren’t speaking to me.”  He said gruffly.

“I wasn’t, but I’m starting to feel bad for you.”  JD said as he entered.  

“I don’t need your pity.”

“You’re right, but you did deserve the anger.”

“I thought we already had this fight,” the Doctor said as he grabbed his bag and started to walk out, “I’m not in the mood to have it again.”

JD followed him, “And neither am I.  But I'm worried about you.”

“Why on Earth would you be worried about me?”  He questioned.

“Because you seem completely miserable and everyone is talking about it.”

“I’m fine.”  The Doctor replied tersely.

“I don’t think you are.”  JD prodded as they continued to walk down the hall towards their offices.

“Well there’s not much I can do about it, if I’m not,” the Doctor sighed, “I’m the one who fucked up my life and no one can change that.”

“You're telling me,” JD agreed.  

They continued walking in silence, the Doctor not completely sure what JD was hoping to accomplish by talking to him.

“Was there something you wanted?”  He asked as they rounded a corner and it looked like JD was going to continue with him.  “Or did you just want to remind me of how shitty my life is?”

“I wanted to see if you wanted to grab a pint at the George.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Come on, you can’t tell me you have other plans.”  JD insisted.

The Doctor thought about his offer.  He did miss having someone to chat with and the truth was he didn’t have many friends in London.  Since his life became one major cock up, he didn’t have anyone to talk to, not that JD would be a confidant, but he could  be  someone to at least discuss work  with .

“Okay.  I’ll meet you there in a couple of hours.”  He finally agreed.

“Great, see you then.”  JD replied and finally stopped following him.

*************

The Doctor walked into the familiar pub and immediately spotted JD sitting at the bar.  This had been the first place he met Clara and despite the reminder of her, he felt comforted thinking about their first encounter.    She had walked in and sat near  them, and JD , of course, tried chatting her up, but had no success as Clara just wasn’t falling for his lines.  However, as luck would have it, JD had to leave and he found himself alone with the pretty young brunette.  It didn’t take long for the two of them to hit it off and the conversation started flowing as easily as the drinks were.  The next thing he knew the pub had closed and the two of them were on the street snogging like a couple of teenagers.  He hadn’t intended to ask her back to his hotel, but he did and she easily agreed.  Their night together was one that he would never forget, ever, because it was the night that changed his life and led to the disaster it was  in  now.

He took a seat next to JD, ordered a pint, and laid his mobile down in front of him.  “So I’m here.”

“I see that.  I honestly thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Me too actually . ”

The two men started by chatting about work and the Doctor had to admit that it was nice to be out in the world again.  He hadn’t  socialized  much in the last couple of months, choosing to stay home and brood  over  Clara and the fact that she never called him after running into her.  He really thought that she would after a couple of weeks but it had now been  over  three months and he was convinced that he was never going to hear from her again.

“So aside from work, how have you been?”  JD asked.

“How do you think?  I broke two women’s hearts simultaneously and the one that I really loved wants nothing to do with me.”

“Well if it’s any consultation, they’re both doing well.”   JD offered.

“I'm glad , ”  an d he really was .   “How’s Rose? ”

“She’s good.   Happy. ”

“Good.  She deserves that.”  The Doctor replied as  he  took a sip of his drink.   “Are you and  she dating now? ”

“No, well not yet at least.  We’ve been taking it very slow, getting to know each other again .  I was actually thinking of asking her on a proper date this weekend. ”

“You should ,” the Doctor responded.  “You two should be together .  You’re far better suited for her than I ever was .”

He took another drink, wondering if he should ask the question that was on his mind, but knew that he was afraid to find out the truth.  Afraid to find out that Clara had moved on from him.

“Clara’s good too.”  JD said, almost as if he read the Doctor’s mind.  “And she’s still single.”

“I wasn’t wondering about that,” the older man said almost defensively.

“Yes, you were.  It was practically written all over your face.”

“Well it doesn’t really matter does it because she  obviously still hates me ,” the Doctor replied sullenly.

“So you’re just giving up?”

“There’s nothing I can do JD.  I broke her heart and destroyed her trust.  Fuck, I  hate myself for what I did , so I don't blame her one bit.”   He took another drink.  “She deserves to be with someone better than me. ”

“Wow, do you hear yourself ? ” JD  asked ,  “Yes you fucked up and yes you did something that she has every right to be mad about,  but you need to sto p your  bloody  pity party and get out there and fight for  her .”

“How the hell am I supposed to fight for a girl who won’t even talk to me?”

“I don’t know, but sitting at home alone isn’t going to help you.  You need to get out  t here and socialize with people; take your mind off of it and then maybe some grand idea will come to you.  I know you don’t have many friends, but you must have some family you could spend time with.  A sister, brother?”

The Doctor looked at him, starting to regret coming out for a drink.  “Any family I have doesn’t live in London.”

“But you have family, right?”  

Again the Doctor looked at him and wondered why he was pushing this subject.  “Some, yes.”

“A sister or brother?”

“Why the hell does it matter what family I have?”  The Doctor said annoyed with JD, but before he got an answer from him, his mobile vibrated on the bar causing him to glance down at it as if it were an alien.  No one ever rang him and in fact not many people had his number. 

“Hello,” he said, answering the call.

There was silence on the other end and just before he was about to hang up someone spoke.

“Uh, hello .”

“Clara,” he sighed, surprised.

“Hi,” she said again.  “How are you?”

“Okay, you?”

“Good,” she replied, not giving him any more information.

“Good.  I’m glad.” 

JD looked at him and rolled his eyes at the awkward phone call he was witnessing.  The Doctor turned away from him, so he wouldn’t be distracted by him.  He had no idea what to say to this woman he once had no problem speaking to.  There was silence on the phone and it was clear he wasn’t alone in that feeling.

“I hope I’m not interrupting you,” Clara finally said.

“Not at all,” he replied, probably coming across as being more desperate then he would normally like, but this was Clara and he would have walked out of a lecture to talk to her.  “It’s good to hear your voice.”

“Right, uh, I want to be clear that this is not me forgiving you.”

“Okay, what is it then.”

“Something  came  up at my job and I’m afraid you’re the only one who might be able to help me sort  it  out.”

“Odd, but I’ll help in whatever way you need,” he answered.

“Could we meet for coffee?”

“Absolutely,” he answered enthusiastically, and hopeful that she was maybe extending an olive branch. “When?”

“How about Saturday?”  

“Saturday’s good.”

“Great.  I’ll text you where and when later in the week.”

“Can’t wait,” he replied.

“I mean it Doctor; this is just because I have questions.  Nothing more.”

“I’m just happy to be able to help,” he answered.  “See you Saturday.”

“Well, well, looks like your luck is changing,” JD said as the Doctor ended his call.

He wasn’t trying to get his hopes up, but it was definitely more promising than it was an hour ago.  He wasn’t sure what kind of help Clara would need in her job, hell he wasn’t even sure what her job was, but he would give her any assistance she needed.

*************

Clara ended her call and gave a big sigh of relief.  She had tried all day to not think about him and James, but she just couldn’t stop and she knew that if she didn’t talk to the Doctor, she was going to continue to drive herself crazy.  Originally, she had thought about seeing if he could meet tonight, but then she thought that it might be best if she not know anything about James before their meeting tomorrow.  This way, maybe she could see if she could get some information from him and then use that to see if the Doctor was telling the truth because Lord knew she didn’t expect him to be honest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for coming along on this crazy ride. Your comments and kudos are so encouraging!

Clara was sure to get to the restaurant early so she would have time to relax before James arrived.  She tried to convince herself that she was nervous because this was her first time managing a campaign on her own, but deep down she knew it was also because of James.How was she supposed to work with someone who shared a face with her ex?  She was just going over her notes one more time when she noticed him walk in.  It was so weird and eerie how identical he was to the Doctor, the same eyes, nose, mouth, everything about his face was the same, but she did notice that he walked differently.  He had a stride of confidence, he stood a little straighter and he held his head high.  It was a subtle difference, but one that Clara couldn’t help but be aware of.

“ Clara,” he said as he flashed her a wide smile that made his eyes crunch the same way the Doctor’s did. “ So lovely to see you.”

She stood to greet him and shook his hand, “you too, Mr. Smith.”

“Now none of that.  It’s James, not Mr. Smith.”   He answered as they both sat.

“Okay, James then,” and she flashed him a smile. “I hope you were able to find the restaurant okay.”

“Absolutely , it’s not far from my hotel. ”

“Oh, you don’t have a place here?”   Clara questioned.

“Not yet.  I'm actually meeting with the realtor after our meeting to look at a  flat a few blocks from here. ”

“Nice.  It’s a really great area , so I think you’ll like it.”  Clara replied , picking up the menu to look at it and not  James.  She was so thankful that he had a different accent from the Doctor and wore is hair shorter, because those were about the only features that  didn’t  reminded her  of him.

“So , Clara you had questions?”  He asked, bringing her attention back to him.   Yes, she had questions; so many questions , but she knew he meant work and opened her notebook to where they were written.

“Why ice cream?”

“Why not,” he answered with a smile .   “Doesn’t everyone love it? ”

Good  God, he even answered questions like the Doctor.  “I suppose they do.”

“They do.  Young, old, man, woman or child, I have yet to meet one person who doesn’t .  And why wouldn’t you want to sell something that makes so many people happy. ”

Clara jotted the word happy down in her book.

“Tell me, what’s your favourite  flavour?”  James asked.  

“Double chocolate ,” she answered.

“And how did you feel when you last ate it ?”

She thought back and remembered that the last time was when Amy brought it to her after she found out the Doctor had cheated.

“Sad,“ she replied.

“Okay, that wasn’t the answer I was expecting.  Why were you sad?”  James asked curiously.

“I had just found out the man I was kind of seeing had a fiancé and my best friend came over with ice cream.”  She answered, not sure why she was being so honest with a man who was practically a stranger and a doppelganger to the very man she was talking about.

“So your friend brought you ice cream to make you feel better.  It’s comforting.”  James replied and then gave her a warm smile.   “And usually what most women turn to when men are being idiots.”

She wrote the word sad and emotions in her book next to happy and continued to ask James more questions about his business.  He happily answered and she could tell that he was very enthusiastic and passionate about his company, which made her realise that there was  another difference between him and the Doctor.  Happiness.  Sure the Doctor seemed happy the times they were together, but she only got glimpses of it and for the most part there was always this underlining sadness which made perfect sense in retrospect.  James however, seemed genuinely happy, which was really nice to see.  

“Okay, last question.  Is this a family business?”  She asked, hoping to gain some insight into his background a bit.

“Nope.  Just me.”

“So no family?”

“I’ve never been married, so no kids.”

Clara nodded and made another note.  How could she  find out if  he has a brother?  Did he even know he had  one?   What if they were separated at birth and neither of them knew of the other?  She started to wonder if she should say something to him, but thought maybe it would be best to wait until after she spoke to the Doctor.

“Okay one more question.”

“I thought that was the last question,” he teased.

“Well your answer made me think of another one,” she replied.  “Why have you decided to move to London?”

"I missed the rainy, grey weather,” he answered straight faced and then smiled at her.

James seemed different from the Doctor, even though they were both funny, charming, and smart, there was something about him that made him more intriguing.  They continued their lunch, Clara sharing some of the ideas she had for his campaign and James offering to give her a tour of his factory and offices.  When the bill came, Clara reached for it, but James grabbed it before her.

“I can’t let you do that, James.”  She said.  “Donna will kill me for letting a client pay.”

“Tell her I insisted and wanted to use this as a tax write off,” he said as Clara glared at him.  “Wow that is quite the stare you have  Ms . Oswald.”

“It’s my stern teacher look.  I would give it to students when they were being bad.”

He stared at her intently for a bit, and Clara was sure that he was trying to read her, “And did it always work?”

“Yes,” she answered without thinking and  continued to glare at him.

He finally handed her the bill and smiled at her.  “I would say so.”

“Thank you,” she answered and took out the company credit card.

She paid the bill and the two made their way outside to wait for James’ driver.

“So I’ll be in touch with some mock ups for the print ads, which should be in about one to two weeks.”   Clara said.

“Great.  I look forward to seeing them,” he looked at her and smiled, “and you as well.”

“You have my number, so if you think of anything you want added to it, just call.

His driver pulled up with the car and got out to open the door for him.  “I will.”  He answered as he got in and flashed her one last smile before he closed the door.

Clara watched him drive off feeling more confused than ever.   It was probably the most surreal lunch she had ever had, staring at the Doctor’s face, but knowing it wasn’t really the Doctor’s.   She still had no idea how she was going to work with a man that would be a constant reminder of her ex, which made her anxious to meet with the Doctor on Saturday.  She needed to put some distance between the two men because right now they kept morphing into the same  person and hopefully her meeting would change that.

\-------------

Clara was throwing clothes around her room, trying to find her black jeans.   T hey were here somewhere, but she just couldn’t find them.  Finally after tossing more clothes on her bed she found them thrown on a chair in the corner of her room.  She quickly pulled them on, trying desperately to ignore her pounding head that was screaming for coffee and perhaps an ocean of water after all the wine she drank last night.  She knew she probably shouldn’t have opened the second bottle with Bill, but once she started telling her everything about her and the Doctor, she just couldn’t stop herself.  Now she had to go see him sporting a massive hangover.

The  Doctor entered the café and didn’t see Clara.  He looked at his watch and hadn’t realised he was running so early.  She had texted him yesterday with the name and asked to meet at half ten and it was only ten .   He ordered a coffee and took a seat  facing the door, so he could see her when she walked in. His stomach was currently a ball of nerves and he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this  way .   He was also very excited to see her and was thinking about her beautiful big brown eyes as he stared into his coffee cup.   An image that  haunted him every night when he went to sleep.   He heard the door open and looked up to see her looking as lovely as ever, her hair was a little longer, but nothing else had changed.  He waved to catch her eye and when she looked in his direction , he was happy to see a small smile.

“Hi,” he said as she approached after getting her coffee .  Man, he missed this woman more than he remembered .

“Hi,” she replied as she sat.  She really needed to keep her composure and not show him just how much she really missed him.  

The two sat there in silence for a  bit, neither really knowing what to say or how to even start their conversation.

“How have you been?”  Clara finally asked, not wanting to jump right into the reason she was here.

“Okay” he smiled at her, “Busy with work.  What about you?”

“The same.”

More awkward silence.  It was crazy how two people who once had no problem speaking to each other now found it hard to say more than two words.  The Doctor stared into his coffee cup and thought about the advice JD had given him, but at the same time he didn’t want to push Clara too much for fear of scaring her off.

“I’m glad you called,” he finally said.

“Right,” she sighed, “look, Doctor, as I said I don’t want to you to make a big deal out of this.  I’m still very mad at what you did and I still don’t trust you, but I hate to admit it,  I have missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Clara.”  He smiled at her.  “I just want you back in my life and even if all it is, is as friends then I’ll take it.  Just tell me what I need to do.”

“If I do let you back in it, all it can be is friends.  I can’t be with you again.”

“ Fine , please just tell me what I need to do.”

“Well you can start by being honest with me with the question I'm about to ask you.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Do you have a twin brother?”

The Doctor stared at her,  that  was the last question he ever expected her to ask .

“Why?”  He asked , his tone turning very serious .

“It’s  a  yes or no question.  Really simple, do you have a twin brother?”  She asked again using her teacher tone.

He knew he needed to answer her if he wanted even a glimmer of a chance with her.  

“Yes.”  

Clara sighed at finally knowing she wasn’t mad and seeing double, but then wanted to know more.  

“Why did you never mentioned him?”

“Why are you asking?”   He needed to know how she found out.

“I asked you first,” she replied.  

“And I answered you r first question .  Now I want to know how you know .”  He said, giving her a tone that meant he  wasn't kidding around.

“Because he’s my new client.”  

“What?”   The Doctor replied completely confused.

“At the ad agency I work for, his company is my new client.”

“But he lives in New York.”

“Not any more,” Clara answered.  “Why  have  you never  mentioned him, Doctor?”

He stared down into his now empty cup.  He hadn’t thought about or seen James in over thirty years.  He didn’t even come home when their parents died.He didn’t want to tell Clara the reason why, but he knew if he didn’t answer her she might walk out.  He just wasn’t ready to talk about him.

“Because I haven’t spoken to him in  almost thirty - five years.”

“Why?”  She asked again, curious as to how someone could not speak to a sibling for so long.

“Clara, can you just leave it at that?   I really don’t want to get into it.”

She could tell that this  news really bothered him by the change in his tone and body language , but she really wanted to know what the issue was.  James seemed like a nice guy, so what could have happened for the Doctor to not speak to him for so long.

“Fine, I’ll  drop it for now, but it might help to talk about whatever is bothering you. ”

“Thanks, but after  this long , I think I'm okay.”

“Alright . ” Clara answered skeptically.

“I'm sorry, it’s just that was the last thing I expected you to ask me.”

“Yeah, well imagine my shock when I  went  into a meeting and  saw you sitting there.  Well you with much shorter hair.  This,” she pointed at his hair and smiled, “is an out of control mess.”

“What?  You don’t like wild and curly? ”   He replied visibly less  agitated.

“Not sure.  I'll let you know.”

He smiled at her and she could feel a little piece of the wall around her heart break off.

“So tell me about your new job.  You like it?”

“I love it. ”  Clara  told him all about Donna and how she was learning so much from her and how great it felt to flex her creativity muscle.   The Doctor just sat there and listened, occasionally asking her more questions.   They were slowly slipping back into the comfort they once had.

“What about you?  How’s lecturing?”  Clara asked.

“It’s good.  I’ve got a good bunch of students this year, not as bright as this one I had last year, but still very good.”  He winked at her.

She missed that wink.  The more they chatted the more Clara was starting to let her guard down a little.  Just enough to maybe see him again.  She really wanted to find out what the issue was with him and James and she knew the only way that was going to happen was to spend more time with him.  They continued talking and before either of them knew it, they had been there for over two hours.

“I should probably get going,” Clara said as she glanced at her watch.  

“Okay,” the Doctor replied, sad that his time with her was ending.  

They walked out of the café and stood there for a moment, both unsure how to say good-bye.  

“I’m going that way to the record shop,” the Doctor said as he pointed down the street.

“I’m going that way too,” Clara said and they started walking in that direction.

“You live near here?”  Clara asked.

“I do.  Thought that it made more sense to live closer to the university then I did when I was with Rose.”  It was the first time he had mentioned her name to Clara, perhaps not wanting to remind her of the pain he caused both women.  “I’m actually not that far from you.  That is if you’re still in the same place.”

“I am.  Funny I haven’t run into you.”

“I don’t go out much,” he said.  “Usually just to work and then home again.”

“That’s not good.”

“There really isn’t much for me to do,” he shrugged.  “I don’t have many friends here.”

Clara couldn’t help but feel bad for him and thought for a moment before she replied to him.  “Would you like to meet for coffee again next Saturday?”

“Really?”  He answered, clearly surprised.

“Yeah, it’ll get you out of the house and force me to get up and start my day, instead of sleeping in.”

“I would really like that.”

“Good.”

They walked the rest of the way, chatting mostly about the neighbourhood, until they reached the record shop.  They parted ways, agreeing to meet at the same time next week.  Clara felt good that she had learned the truth about who James was, even though she didn’t know why they were estranged, and even felt a little better about forgiving the Doctor a bit.  It wasn’t good to hold on to so much anger and she needed to move on from what had happened.  She really felt that this was the first step to that.  She could be his friend and this time she was really going to keep it that way.


	5. Chapter 5

“I am not forgiving him, Amy.”  Clara said as she was helping her friend prepare dinner.

“Sounds like you are to me.  You got  your  answer, so why agree to meet him again for coffee?”

“Because there’s more to it.  I need to know why he doesn’t talk to his brother.  His twin brother at that.” 

“Maybe it’s none of your business.”  Amy said as she stirred the meat sauce on the  stove.

“Maybe, but I need to know and the only way I’m going to find out is to spend time with the Doctor.”

“So you’re pretending to forgive him, to get information?”  Amy asked.

Clara thought about it for a moment.  Was she?  It didn’t feel like she was.  She genuinely enjoyed her coffee with him yesterday and did really miss spending time with him.

“No, I’m not doing that,” she finally answered.

“Then you forgive him.”

Clara sighed and stopped chopping the peppers.  “I guess I do.”

“How can you forgive him for what he did?”  Amy asked angrily.  She took being a redhead to heart and had a very fiery personality.

“ Just b ecause I forgive him, doesn’t mean that I  have  forgotten  what he did.  They’re two different things ,  Amy.  But I need to move on from the anger I have and the way to do that is to forgive him.  I know that after I left him yesterday, I felt  lighter , like I had been carrying this  weight  around with me and I suddenly got rid of it.  He knows what he did was wrong, and deep down I don’t think he really is that person.  He made mistakes, and yes, I got hurt and Rose got hurt, but I think we are both better off for it.  Being with him yesterday felt different.  There was no sexual tension,  not  like in the past when we were alone together.  I enjoy his company and conversation and that is all it’s going to be.”

Amy stared at her, clearly thinking about what she just said.  “Fine, but mark my words Clara Oswald, you’re going to sleep with him again.”

“No I’m not.”  Clara answered firmly.

“Okay, then you’re going to sleep with his brother.”

“Amy!  I most certainly am not!”

“Clara, I have never seen you the way you were with the Doctor.  The fact that you have now met a man that looks exactly like him,  but  has never hurt you, tells me that you’re going to sleep with him.”

“It’s not going to happen Amy.”  Clara said a matter of fact.  “I just got this job and I’m not going to mess it up by sleeping with my client.  Now can we please drop this subject before Rose gets here.”

“Fine.  

The two girls finished preparing dinner and got it in the oven just before Rose arrived.  They had been taking turns hosting a Sunday night dinner once a month, which was great.  They were really bonding together again and it was nice to feel close to Rose again.  There would be times that Clara would feel bad that she had this secret, but she knew it was for the best that Rose  didn’t know  it was her that her ex fiancé cheated with.  The three were just catching up on the week events, when Amy gave Clara an odd look.

“What?”  She said to her.

“Don’t you want to tell Rose what happened to you this week?”  Amy prodded.

Clara looked at her as if she had lost her mind.  She couldn’t tell Rose what had happened and Amy bloody well knew that.  “Tell her about what?”

“Tell her about your new client.”  Amy added.

If Clara could shoot daggers from her eyes, they would have been flying at Amy’s head.  “Oh she doesn’t want to hear that.”

“I think I kind of do now.”  Rose chimed in.

“Well, I got this new client who owns an ice cream company.  I’m going to be running the campaign on my own.”

“Clara!  That’s fantastic!”  Rose said excitedly.

“Isn’t it.”  Amy added, which Clara realised was what Amy was getting at.

“Yeah, I’m excited.  Nervous, but excited to be given the opportunity.” 

“That’s great!  I’m so happy for you.”  Rose replied.  “Looks like it was a good week for all of us.  

“Oh?  What happened to you?”  Amy asked.

“ I had a date last night.”

“What?!  With who?”  Amy asked.

“JD.  He finally asked me on a proper date.”  Rose said happily.

“I’m glad he finally did.”  Clara said.  “It’s been a long time coming.”

“Well I wanted to make sure we were entering into something for the right reasons and not just because of our past.  I really wanted to take my time and get to know him  again .  I can’t wait for you to meet him Amy.

Amy had actually  already met JD, back when Clara had first met him after her one-night stand with the Doctor.  It was killing Amy to have to pretend that she didn’t know this man  so  that Rose  wouldn't find out about Clara and the Doctor , but hopefully that would soon end.   Clara, on the other hand, had become good friends with him  after everything that had happened with the Doctor  and would  spend time with him and Rose from time to time.  She was sure that it started  because Rose didn’t want to be alone with him,  for fear she might not take things as  slowly  as she wanted .

Clara’s mobile rang and she glanced down to see who it was, but didn’t immediately recognize the number.

“Who is it?”  Amy asked.

“Don’t know, but only one way to find out.”  She said as she answered the call.  “Hello.”

“Hi Clara, it’s James.”

“Oh hi James.”  Amy gave her an odd look and Clara knew that she would be bothering her the whole call so she got up and left the room.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Not at all.  What can I do for you?”  Clara asked.

“I was wondering if you wanted to come by my factory tomorrow and I could give you that tour I had mentioned.”

“Yeah, I could do that.  What time were you  thinking?”

“I was hoping maybe at nine.”  

“Shouldn’t be a problem.  I'll call Donna and run it by her.”

“Great.  Once you have a confirmation, text me your address and I’ll send a driver to pick you up.”

“Okay.  I'll be in touch.”

Clara ended her call and sent Donna a message to confirm if it would be okay or not.  She didn’t see why it wouldn’t be, but wanted to be sure nonetheless.   It wasn’t long before Donna replied and told her it was okay and if she wanted to work from home after that was fine too.   She fired off a quick text to James and then returned to her friends.

“Who’s James ?”  Rose asked in a sing song voice .  “New bloke?”

“No, new client.  He wants me to tour his office first thing tomorrow.”

Her phone dinged and Clara looked down at the message.

**_ James:  _ ** **_ Glad to hear. _ ** **_   A car will pick you up at  _ ** **_ 8:30. _ ** **__ **

Followed immediately by another one.

**_ James:  _ ** **_ I look forward to seeing you again. _ ** **__ **

Clara smiled at James ’  message, not sure  why, but she was kind of looking forward to seeing him as well.

“ And is that just the client too?”  Amy asked.

“Yes, why?”

“Oh nothing ,” she replied, “Just you smiled at his text.”

“Shut up.”  Clara said, annoyed with her friend.  Amy just gave her a look that told Clara she thought she was right about what they had discussed earlier.

*************

The next morning Clara stood on the steps outside her flat, waiting for James' car to pick her up. She wasn’t sure what this tour would entail, but  she hoped it would give her more insight into his business.  She had just looked down at her phone, when she noticed a black Audi stop in front.   She stepped towards it as the back door opened and James  got out.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning,” Clara replied, surprised to see him.  “I didn’t realise you’d be coming with the car.”

“ I  thought we could chat on the way ,” he replied as he held the door open for her.

Clara slid into the car and James followed behind her.   As soon as they were settled in the driver drove off.

“How was your weekend?”  James asked.

“Good actually. ”  

Clara wondered for a moment if she should tell James about the Doctor, but decided it would be best to not let him know.  There was really no need , after all he was only her client and their relationship was strictly professional.   Any information she was going to get about the brothers'  estrangement would have to come from the Doctor.

“And you?”  She asked.

“ Nothing special.  Worked mostly.”

“ Well that sounds rather dull,” she replied.

“I suppose it does. ”  He smiled and shrugged his shoulders at her.

“How was the flat you looked at?  Any luck?”

“Oh it was  rubbish .  Nice, but just way too small.”

James’ mobile rang and he apologised to Clara for having to take the call.  She stared out the window trying to not pay attention to his conversation, but it was kind of hard not to.  He sounded different with whomever he was speaking with; more formal, firm, and almost angry.  She wondered who was on the other end of the call because it sounded like James was not very happy with them.

“I don’t care,” he said harshly, “You find that fucking shipment and you find it now, or it’s your arse that’s going to be on the line.” 

He ended the call and turned to Clara.  She couldn’t help but notice that when he was angry his Scottish accent came out more.

“I’m really sorry about that.  A soon to be former employee lost track of one our shipments and the customer is quite angry,” he apologised, sounding a lot calmer than he did during the call.

“That’s not good,” Clara said, “Hope someone finds it.”

“I’m sure it’ll turn up.”  He said as he started typing on his phone, clearly sending a text to someone.

“You know when you’re angry, you turn Scottish.”

He looked up and gave her a quizzical look.  “I am Scottish.”

“Most of the time you sound American, but just now, your Scottish accent came out with a vengeance,” she smiled at him.

He laughed, “Well you should hear me when I’m drunk.  It really comes out then.”

“I guess you can take the lad out of Scotland, but not the Scottish out of the lad,” Clara said and smiled at him.

“Aye, quiet righ t  y e  ‘re,  bonnie lass.”  He replied, putting on  a  full Scottish accent, and winked at her.

She  laughed and  couldn’t help but notice that, that was another difference between him and his brother.  James’ wink was subtle, but the Doctor’s was far from it.

“So where exactly are we heading ?”

“I thought we’d go to the factory first and then to the office .  Hope that’s alright?  Guess I should have mentioned that. ”

“It’s fine.  I don’t need to go to the office today, so I'm all yours.”

He quirked an eyebrow, the same expressive eyebrows the Doctor had, and she realized the implication of what she said.

“Oh, sorry,” she blushed, “I obviously didn’t mean like that.”

“I know, I'm just teasing. ”  He answered, then changed the subject.  “So any more questions about the business before we get there ?”

Clara dove into some that she had written down over the weekend and they spent the rest of the ride talking about  work .  Once  they  g ot to  the  factory, Clara g ot to  see the whole process of  making and packaging the different products , followed by a tour.   It was a pretty big  space , in an industrial estate  near the Thames  and looked fairly new.

“How long has the  factory  been running? ”  Clara asked.

“A couple of months.   Once I made a deal with Tesco, I got this place up and running.   Now I want to focus on opening ice cream shops and  trucks.  Which is where you  come in.  I really like the ideas  you’re  proposing Clara .”

“Thanks,” she replied feeling proud of herself.

James mobile rang, so he excused himself, leaving Clara alone  in the packaging area .   She started chatting with one of the employees, trying to get a sense of what it was like to work there.   The man seemed very happy and said it was refreshing to work for a company where the owner was very hands on and approachable .  James did give off that impression, if it weren’t for the expensive suits and  fancy cars, she wouldn’t have thought he was the owner of a  multimillion  dollar  company .

“Sorry about that again.”  James said as he entered back in .  He thanked the employee for keeping Clara company and then they moved on towards the exit.   “I hope you don’t mind but I need to make a stop  before we get to my office .”

“Not at all,” Clara replied.  “I understand that you’re running a  company.”

“Yes, but I do like to  give my full attention to someone when I’m with them ,” he answered. 

James gave his driver an address and then opened the door for Clara.  She couldn’t help but notice how much of a gentleman he was and she started to wonder why he was alone.  He gave her the impression that he was single, so why would someone like him not have been snatched up yet.   As well,  t he more she was getting to know him the more curious she got as to why the Doctor stopped speaking to him.  She wondered if there might be some way to get James to talk about his family, but she just wasn’t sure how to bring it up without it seeming like she was prying.  Hopefully at some point the conversation would turn that way and she would be able to find out more about him.

The car stopped in front of a building and James got out, but before Clara could open her door, he was there opening it for her.

“Thanks,” she said, “But I could have just waited here.”

“Nonsense,” he answered.  “Besides I wouldn’t mind a second opinion.”

“On what?”

“A flat.  Hope you don’t mind?”  He said as they walked towards a man standing at the entrance.

Clara was a tad taken a back that James would want her to look at a potential home with him, but was curious as to what he would be interested in.  They greeted the man and he took them to the penthouse, where a private lift opened to the suite and Clara had never seen a place like this.  It was massive and elegant; open and spacious.  There were windows everywhere and the agent explained that there was a wraparound balcony that over looked Regent’s Park as well as a view of the city. Clara started walking around while James was asking questions to the agent and found herself in the master bedroom.  She couldn’t help but image what it would be like to have a walk-in closet like the one here or the massive soaker tub that overlooked the park.

“So what do you think?”  James asked as he walked into the bathroom.

“I think I love this tub,” she answered, “but don’t you think it’s too big for one person?”

“Maybe, but I like space.”  He opened the balcony door and the two stepped outside, “not to mention, look at this view.”

“It is really nice.  I wonder what it would look like at night.”

“I bet it would be a bonnie  sight,” he answered looking at Clara and smiling.

“Your Scottish is showing again,” she answered as she returned his smile.

“Guess you bring it out of me.”

He turned and stepped through the door again and Clara followed.  “Mark.”

The agent appeared around the corner, “Yeah?”

“I’ll take it.”

“Fantastic.  I’ll go do up the paperwork and have it sent over to your office.”

He walked off to make a phone call and James turned to Clara, who was sure she must have been looking at little stunned at what had just happened.

“Wow, just like that,” she said.

“Just like that.  Now, are you hungry Ms. Oswald?  Because I’m starving.”

“I could eat.”

“Great, but this time I’m paying for lunch,” he insisted.

“If you must,” she said, “then I’ll let you.”

They exchanged smiles and made their way to the lift.  “You seem very independent Clara.”

“Well I do live on my own.”

“Not like that.  Like you don’t need a man to take care of you or to complete you.”

“Well I don’t.  Why would I?”

“I guess I’ve just been around a lot of women who want me to take charge, be the one to make all the decisions.  It’s refreshing to see a young woman who has the take-charge can-do attitude that you have.”

“Thanks,” she answered and couldn’t help but blush a little at the compliment.

“I hope your boyfriend appreciates that quality in you,” he added as they stepped outside and Clara wondered if he was fishing for information.

“I’m sure if I had one, he would.”

He looked at her surprised.  “I find that hard to believe.”

“Believe it.  I’ve never been one for relationships and the last time I attempted one, I ended up eating a tub of ice cream.”

“Well that’s good for me,” he answered and Clara looked at him oddly, knowing what he meant but wanting to see if she could make him squirm. 

“What?” he questioned when he saw her expression and then it dawned on him what he had said.  “Oh, I meant that you bought ice cream, not that you’re single.  I wasn’t implying...”

“I know,” she said as she cut him off with a small smile.  “I was just teasing.”

“Fair enough,” he replied and chuckled.

They went for lunch and then back to his office where they discussed some different ideas that Clara had about the direction of his campaign.  By the end of the day she  felt more confident  of how she was going to approach everything and was anxious to get started on it.  Also, by the end of the day she felt that she had gotten to know James just a little bit more.  She knew he didn’t have any friends here and she found herself wanting to help him with that.  Someone as nice as him shouldn’t spend his evenings alone.  However, she still wasn’t able to get him to admit  to having a  twin brother.  She had no idea how she could get that out of him and she was starting to wonder if she should say something to him, but knew it really was no business of hers.  It just seemed such a shame that the two of them were family and they didn’t even talk to one another.  Growing up, she wished so much for her parents to give her a little brother or sister, but it just never happened.  Sure her friends were like family to her, but she somehow felt that it would be different if they were blood related.  Perhaps when she saw the Doctor on Saturday, she could find a way to get more information out of him and tell him about the time she spent with James.  She would get to the bottom of it, she just had to.


	6. Chapter 6

Saturday couldn’t have come fast enough for the Doctor.  As soon as his alarm went off, he immediately got into the shower and started thinking about seeing Clara.  He needed to win her trust again and prove to her that he wasn’t the man she thought he was, but he had no idea how he was going to do that.  He also needed to remind himself that this wasn’t a date and that Clara had made it very clear she didn’t want that from him.  However, he really hoped he could change her mind and that maybe in time she would be able to give him a little more.  He got dressed and made his way to the coffee shop, arriving a little earlier than they had planned so he grabbed each of them a coffee and some scones and decided to wait for her outside on the bench in front of the café.  He didn’t have to wait long when he saw her crossing the street.  She looked as lovely as she always did and he couldn’t help but think of how much of an idiot he was for destroying what they had. 

“Hey,” she said as she approached him. 

“Hi,” he answered as he stood and handed her a coffee. 

“What’s this?” 

“Coffee.” 

She smiled at him, “Obviously, but why are you not inside?” 

“It’s a nice day and I thought that maybe we could walk to Telegraph Hill.” 

“That sounds nice,” she answered as they started walking, “I haven’t been there since I started living here.” 

“But you’ve been before?” 

“Yeah, when I was a kid.  My parents and Gran used to take me there to play.  There was this giant slide that they would have to drag me away from at the end of the day.” 

The Doctor chuckled at the image of a tiny stubborn Clara.  “Well maybe we can find the slide and you can see if it’s still as much fun as you remember.” 

“I imagine it won’t seem so big to me now.” 

“No probably not.”  He smiled. 

The two continued their walk to the park, chatting mostly about the unseasonably nice weather they had been having and sometimes just walking in silence.  The Doctor was glad that he was carrying his coffee and the bag of scones because otherwise he would have been very tempted to slip his hand into hers, which he knew would have made her run in the opposite direction.  He felt like whatever they were building towards he needed to tread lightly for fear of scaring Clara away.  

They arrived at the park and found a bench at the top of the hill that overlooked the city.  They sat and the Doctor offered her a scone, which she happily took. 

“I wasn’t sure what you might like, so opted for plain and blueberry,” he said. 

“Thanks,” she said as she took the offered baked good.  “Blueberry is actually my favourite, so good choice.” 

“Noted,” he answered as he bit into the plain one. 

“This is a really amazing view,” Clara remarked.  “I had no idea you would be able to see the London Eye from here.”  

“Me either.  You ever been on it?”  The Doctor asked. 

“Nah, always seemed kind of touristy.  What about you?” 

“Once, when I was here for a conference.  I don’t think you’re missing much.” 

“Did you come to London much when you lived in Glasgow?”  Clara asked, curious of just how well he knew the city. 

“Not often.  Sometimes there might be a band I wanted to see that wasn’t coming up to Scotland, so I’d come down.” 

“So you don’t know London very well?” 

“No, just the area around here and where I used to live.” 

“You should take one of those bus tours.”  Clara recommended.  “I’ve often thought about doing one just to see if I can learn something new about the city I grew up in.” 

“That’s not a bad idea.  We should do that.”  Doctor said, not really thinking about the fact that he just included her in the plan.  “I bet the city has changed a bit since you’ve been gone on your travels.” 

“Perhaps,” she answered. 

The Doctor wasn’t sure if she was saying perhaps to the city changing or perhaps to going on a bus tour.  For now he decided to just drop the subject and move on to something else. 

“How was work this week?”  He asked. 

“Good.”  She answered unsure if she should bring up James or not. 

“You spoke very highly of your boss when we met last week, you still shadowing her?”  He asked, curious to find out more about her work and just how much contact she might have with his brother. 

“Well actually she’s given me my own campaign to work on,” she answered hesitantly. 

“That’s great!”  He answered, enthusiastically.  “What’s the campaign?” 

She paused for a moment before she replied, “It’s your brother’s company.” 

The Doctor couldn’t help the bit of rage he started to feel at hearing her mention his twin, but he knew he couldn’t show it to her. 

“Oh,” he simply answered. 

Clara tried to gauge his reaction and wasn’t sure what was going through his head, so she thought maybe she’d tell him more about it. 

“I actually spent the day with him on Monday touring his factory.” 

“Alone?”  His rage was growing. 

“Well he had a driver and there were people around, but for the most part, yes alone.”  Clara answered wondering why it would matter if other people were with them or not.  “Why?” 

The Doctor took a couple of calming breaths.  He didn’t want to talk about his past, but at the same time he felt like he needed to warn Clara about James.  When she had mentioned him last week, he thought that she would be with other people from her company and not working directly with him.  He also didn’t want to start an argument with her and he knew that would likely happen if he said what he really wanted to say, which was for her to stay away from him. 

“Just be careful around him.” 

Why on Earth would she need to be careful around someone as sweet and nice as James?  What happened to these two for the Doctor to think she was in danger with his brother?  

“Why?”  She asked. 

Of course she wouldn’t leave it at that.  “You just don’t know him the way I do.”  The Doctor replied. 

“No offence, but you don’t know him either.  It’s been over thirty years, Doctor; people change.”   

She was right in that he didn’t know his brother now, but what he did know of him was enough for him to not ever want to speak to him again.  He was more than certain that James hadn’t changed and was more than likely the same person he was when he left Scotland. 

“Not James.” 

“What did he do?”  Clara asked, unable to hold back her questioning. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.”  The Doctor said as he stood and walked over to a bin to toss his garbage into it.  “Just try not to fall for whatever image he wants you to believe he is.  Trust me, whoever you think he is, he's not.” 

Clara stood up and walked over to him.  “Aren’t you the least bit curious to see him?” 

“I don’t need to see him Clara.  He looks exactly like me.” 

“That’s not what I meant.  He’s your brother, your twin for crying out loud.”  She was beginning to get frustrated with him.  “I would have given my right arm to have a sibling and here you are with one, but you don’t want anything to do with him.” 

“Clara, you just don’t understand.” 

“Then help me to understand.” 

He looked at her and could see that she was desperate to know what happened, but he had never told anyone and he wasn’t sure if he could tell her.  He wanted to.  He knew it would help her to trust him again, but it was a secret that he had lived with for most of his life and he had worked hard at burying it.  He couldn’t let it surface again and most of all if she knew the truth, she would likely think very differently of him.  He had just gotten her back into his life and he didn’t want to ruin it a second time. 

“I can’t.” 

This man was infuriating.  How was she supposed to trust him again if he wouldn’t open up to her? 

“John,” she used his name hoping that he would understand how serious she was, “I want to trust you again, but I can’t if you don’t let me in.” 

“Please, Clara, can you just drop it for now?  I want to be open with you, but I have been closed off most of my life.  I can’t just flip a switch and have everything come pouring out.” 

She could see the torment he was going through and decided that for now she would stop pushing him. 

“Okay, sorry,” she apologised. 

“Thank you,” he sighed, relieved that it looked like she was going to stop, at least for now.  “I really do want to tell you Clara, but I need to work up to it.” 

“Okay.”  She decided they needed to change the subject and get back to the pleasant morning they were having.  “Want to walk around for a bit?” 

“That would be nice.” 

The two walked around the park, looking at the various flowers and plants they came across and Clara would occasionally snap some pictures with her mobile.  The Doctor asked her if she liked taking photos and she told him she did.  It was an interest that he had as well, so they talked about the different cameras they owned and what kind of photos they liked to take.  Clara was quickly realising that there was a lot she didn’t know about this man, a man she thought she knew very well.  However, if she really thought about her time with him, all she knew was that he had travelled, loved music and shared similar views on politics.  Most of their time together had been spent talking about her course when he was her teacher, or flirting and shagging.  It was nice to finally be learning more about him and the things that he was interested in, despite him not wanting to open up about his past. 

“Why don’t we go on a photo expedition next Saturday?”  Clara suggested. 

“Really?”  The Doctor said, surprised and excited that she wanted to see him again. 

“Yeah, I haven’t gone out exploring in quite some time.  It would also be a good way for you to see another part of the city.” 

“What did you have in mind?”  He asked. 

“Why don’t we go to Regent's Park?”   

“I’d like that.”  He answered. 

“Great,” Clara replied, but then her mobile rang before she could finish her sentence.  She looked at it and saw that it was James.  What could he possibly want on a Saturday? 

“Do you need to answer that?” he asked. 

“I should.  Can you excuse me a minute?”  She walked off giving herself some distance.   

“Hello,” she said. 

“Hi,” James said, “I hope I’m not bothering you?”   

“No, not at all,” she answered as she looked at the Doctor who was taking some pictures of a nearby statue with his mobile.  “What can I do for you?” 

“I was wondering if you wanted to meet me for ice cream this afternoon.” 

“I’m sorry, what?”  She said confused.  Was he asking her on a date? 

“Sorry, I just realised how that sounded.  What I meant was that I haven’t had you try my ice cream yet and I was wondering if you wanted to sample some new flavours I’m testing out today.” 

“Oh, well I have actually tried your ice cream, but I would be interested in doing a taste test.”  Spending some time with James aside from work might be a good way to see if she could get to know him better and find out if he’d admit to having a brother. 

“Great.  I’ll send a car to bring you to my office, if that’s okay?” 

“Sure.  What time?”   

“3, okay?” 

“Yeah, sounds good.”  She said her good bye and then joined the Doctor again. 

“Everything okay?”  He asked. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” she didn’t want to tell him who it was.  “Just my dad.” 

They continued their walk and their discussion about photography, until Clara realised that she needed to get home to give herself time to get ready before James' car picked her up.  They exited the park and started walking in the direction of Clara’s flat, but once they got to a street a couple of blocks away from her place, the Doctor stopped. 

“This is me,” he said as he pointed to a building behind him.  He was nervous to let Clara see just how close his place was to hers because he didn’t want her to think that was the reason he chose it. 

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were close.”  

“Aye, sorry.” 

“Why are you apologising?”  She asked, confused. 

“I don’t want you to feel that I'm invading your space.  I had a realtor show me some places closer to the university, but when he showed me this, I just loved it.  It was close enough for me to walk, but far enough away to not have that many students around.  I had no idea that it was just down the street from yours until after I moved in.” He explained. 

“It’s okay, Doctor.  I didn’t think you chose this place because of me.” 

It was the truth, he had no idea how close it was to Clara’s until after, but what he didn’t tell her was that he chose it because the flat reminded him of her.  He couldn’t pin point exactly what it was about it, but as soon as he walked in, he had thought of her.  Maybe it was because it was a similar building to Clara’s, and the layout, although different, felt similar. 

“So next Saturday then,” he said changing the subject. 

“Yes,” she answered and debated as to if she should tell him to meet her at her flat or somewhere else.  “Why don’t we meet at Brockley station at nine?” 

“Okay,” he wanted more than anything to give her a hug goodbye, but knew it was way too soon for that.  Instead he moved towards his door.  “See you then.” 

“I'll bring the coffee and scones this time.”  She yelled back to him as she started walking away. 

“Deal,” he yelled back. 

Clara continued home and couldn’t help the small grin that appeared on her face.  She enjoyed her time with the Doctor.  However, she could tell that there was still this sadness about him and she wasn’t sure if it was because of her, or the fact that she was bringing up things about his past that he wanted to forget.  Just what those things were, she couldn’t guess, but perhaps after today she might be able to get more insight into James and what could have happened. 


	7. Chapter 7

 

Clara was in the lift on her way up to James' office.  She wasn’t entirely sure what she should wear, so she opted for a more casual look with dark boot cut denim jeans, a simple white t-shirt, and black converses, but added a black three-quarter sleeve blazer.  She checked her hair in the reflection of the lift just before the doors opened, although she wasn’t sure why she was so concerned about how she looked.  

The door was open to his office and she noticed a couple of people setting a table when she walked in.  James was standing near the window on his mobile and didn’t see her at first, but then turned and gave her a wide grin and motioned for her to sit down.  She was taken by surprise to see him in jeans and a sweater, since the only thing she had seen him in were suits.  Even in a casual look, he still looked polished and put together.  It was weird seeing both him and the Doctor on the same day; it made it a bit easier for her to see the slight differences in them.  James exuded a confidence that the Doctor once had and she couldn’t help but wonder if the incidents of last year had changed him.

“I’ve gotta go River.  I'll talk to you later.”

Clara was brought out of her thoughts and  wondered who River  was.

“Hi,” he smiled at her .  “Are your taste buds ready for this?”

“Not exactly sure what I need to do to prepare them, but I am looking forward to trying new flavours.  As long as you haven’t taken a page out of Harry Potter and created a vomit flavour.”

James laughed, “I promise nothing disgusting.”

The people told James everything was ready and he thanked them before excusing them, leaving him and Clara alone.  She joined him near the table and looked at the different bowls that were laid out with name cards in front of them.  Some of the names looked interesting, like mocha cherry blast, and she couldn’t wait to sample them.

“So basically, what we have here are the new flavours that are going to go into the shops I plan on opening.  Of course there will be the traditional ones like chocolate and vanilla, but I wanted to add some different ones,  combining  some different tastes.”

“Well they all look good.”  Clara said.

“Which one is calling to you the most?”  James asked.

“Blueberry chocolate chunk.”

James picked up a spoon and handed to her, “Go ahead.”

She dipped her spoon into the bowl and then brought it up to her mouth.  James was watching her very intently, obviously trying to gage her impression.  She closed her eyes, so she could focus on the flavour s  that  were  hitting her tongue, a combination of tart from the blueberry and sweet from the chocolate chunks, mixed with a rich creamy vanilla.

“From the look on your face, I would say you like that one.”  James said.

Clara opened her eyes to look at him.  “It’s divine.”

“Good,” he smiled at her and dipped his spoon into the same bowl.  “Oh yeah, that is good, but then again I love blueberry, so I’m not surprised.”

Clara took a drink of water and then chose the next one she wanted to try, mocha cherry blast.  Once again James watched her before he sampled.  

“Not a fan of that one,” he said and laughed.

“That  obvious  from my expression?”  She asked.

“Yes, the first one your face was blissful.  This one was more neutral.”  He answered as he tried it for himself.  “I don’t mind it.”

“It’s not bad, I’m just not a fan of cherry.  Now if it was mocha caramel, I think I could get behind that.”

“Hey that’s not a bad idea.”  James answered as he pulled out his mobile and typed something.

They continued sampling until they had tried everything.  She made some quick notes of her experiences while James called someone to come and take the ice cream away.  She was really starting to get a good idea of what she wanted to do for his campaign and she was beginning to get excited about presenting them to him.  She finished a couple of notes and started to put her book back into her bag, before she stood up, getting James attention.

“That was really great.  Thanks for the sneak peek.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered and then looked at his watch.  “I know that we just ate a bunch of ice cream, but would you like to grab some dinner?  I know I could use some real food.”

Clara wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not.  She wanted to keep things professional with James, but at the same time she did want to get to know him better.  Going for dinner with him might be a good way to do that.

“It’s cool if you’ve got plans,” he said clearly sensing her hesitation, “I just thought if you were free.”

“Yeah, okay.”  She finally answered.  What harm could come from one dinner?

“Great, it’ll be nice to not eat alone for a change.  There’s a place nearby that serves the best Italian food.  Do you like Italian?”

“ I do .”  She answered and followed him towards the door.

They entered the restaurant and the host welcomed James by name, and was surprised to see he wasn’t by himself.  As they walked towards a table at the back, Clara couldn’t help but notice the date like atmosphere the restaurant had; dim lighting, candles on the tables, and a lot of couples.

“So you come here often?”  Clara asked James.

“That obvious, huh?”  He replied. 

“Just a bit, when the host knows your name.”

“They do have the best chicken parmesan I’ve ever had.”  He answered, as he picked up the wine menu.  “What kind of wine do you like?”

“Mostly red, but I’m not that particular.”

“Do you mind if I order us a bottle?”

She was starting to feel like she was on a date and wondered if she should make it clear to James that she wasn’t interested in dating him, but at the same time she didn’t want to appear rude if that wasn’t what he was thinking.  It was just so hard to tell.  She probably needed to stop over thinking everything and just go with the flow of the night before she started jumping to conclusions.  Just because the Doctor was attracted to her didn’t  mean  that James was  too .

“Sure, why not.”

The waiter came to tell them about the specials and took their wine order.  He returned with the bottle and poured a little for James to try and once he approved, filled their glasses.  On James’ recommendation, Clara ordered the chicken and he of course did the same.

“To a successful ad campaign that will lead to a successful business.”  James said as he raised his glass and Clara toasted with him.

“But hey no pressure right,” she smiled.

James laughed, “None at all.”

Clara glanced around the restaurant, unsure of what to talk about.  They had engaged in some small talk during  their  times together, but for the most part it had always been about business.

“Would you like to discuss some of the ideas I have so far ?”  she asked .

“Honestly, I’d rather  not think about work.  It’s Saturday night and I'm having dinner with an intriguing woman.  I'd like to get to know you better, if that’s alright?”

Clara felt herself flush a little at James' obvious attempt at flirting.  

“I wouldn’t say I'm that intriguing.  Just a girl from London, like any other girl from London.”

“I don’t think so.  For starters, you mentioned you were a teacher.   You obviously aren’t one now, so how did you get from there to here?”

“That is actually a pretty long story ,” she answered.

“I'm not going anywhere,” he replied, clearly not giving up.

“Okay, but if I share, you share ,” she countered.  This was her chance to try and get more answers to the mystery of the Smith boys.

“ Deal,” he answered with a grin.

Clara told him about how she had dropped out of uni to travel, omitting the bit about why, then told him about how the easiest jobs to get were teaching English.  He asked about the places she had been to and she listed most of them off.  She could tell that he was impressed and mentioned that she had traveled more than him.  She finished her story by telling him how she had decided to go back to uni and that she had just graduated less than a year ago.

“So you’re new to the business then?”  he asked.

Shit , she hadn’t thought about the fact that he didn’t know just how inexperienced she was.

“Uhm, yeah.  I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”  She bit her bottom lip out of nervousness.

James laughed, “It’s okay.  I promise I won’t hold it against you.”

“Thanks.  Now your turn. ”  

“Ask away Miss Oswald,” he replied as he poured more wine into her empty glass.

“Why did you leave Scotland?”

“ For school ,” he answered as he emptied the rest of the  bottle into his glass

“And why didn’t you come back?”

“I liked New York.”

“Can you elaborate on any of your answers?”  Clara asked, annoyed that she had shared with him, but he  wasn't  very willing to open up to her.

“There’s not much  to  say about it.   I moved when I was 21  and stayed because I liked the city.”

“Okay, what about before you moved.  What was young James like?”   She asked hoping to finally get him to admit to having a brother.

“Oh young James was a typical lad, getting into trouble and doing dumb shite.”   His Scottish accent was starting to come out a little more.

Before Clara could ask her follow up question, their food arrived along with another bottle of wine, which she hadn’t even notice James order.   

“So what kind of dumb shite were you doing?”

“Getting into fights and mostly giving my ma and pa a hard time.  Like I said just typical dumb stuff.”

She couldn’t believe he still didn’t mention the Doctor.  She was beginning to wonder if she should just be honest with him and tell him that she knows his brother, just not how well she knows him.  It would be better if the truth came out now and not later, especially if they did become friends.

“James, I need to be honest with you,” she said as she took a very serious tone.  She didn’t know if this was a good idea or not, but there was only one way to find out.

“About what?”  He asked, looking at her curiously.

“I know that you have a twin brother.”  She blurted out quickly in order to not chicken out.

He gave her a confused look and she wasn’t sure if he was angry or annoyed.  He definitely had the same expressive eyebrows as the Doctor, that could make him look just down right cross.

“How?”  He finally asked.

“He was my lecturer last year,” she answered, not telling him anymore.  

She could almost see the wheels turning in his head and she really couldn’t read him at all.

“So that explains why you were looking at me oddly when we first met,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said staring at her wine, unable to look him in the eyes.  “I should have told you sooner.”

“It’s fine,” he tried to assure her.  “So Allan’s a teacher, eh?”

“He actually goes by John.  You don’t know what he’s doing?”  She questioned.  She knew the Doctor didn’t know much about James, but clearly James didn’t know much about him either.

“Really? John?  Huh.  Guess a lot has changed since we last spoke.” he answered as he took a bite of his food.  For a moment Clara caught a glimpse of sadness in his eyes before he looked down at his food. 

 “You're not close?”

“Not since we were very young men.”

He looked at his food again and Clara could see that he was lost in a thought.  He didn’t say anything just continued to eat.  It was becoming obvious that he didn't want to talk about it, just like the Doctor and that something big had happened in their past.  She decided to not push the subject anymore and changed the topic.

“So when do you get to move into your new flat?”  

“Next Saturday actually.  Not that I have much to move, but it will be nice to not be living in a hotel any more.  I miss cooking.”

“You cook?”

“I do.  And I'm pretty darn good at it too,” he smiled at her.

“Modest as well.”

“Well I'm pretty good at most things I do, so yes.”  

He took a drink of wine and stared at Clara very intently.  Clara couldn’t help it, her mind went to where it shouldn’t go and suddenly she felt very warm.  The wine was clearly taking an effect and she couldn’t stop her mouth from saying the words she was thinking.

“And what other things might you be good at?”   She asked coyly , taking a sip of her own wine.

James eyed her for a moment .  “Play your cards right ,  Miss  Oswald, and you might find out one day.”

They looked at each other  and Clara’s brain finally took control.

“Well you’re clearly good at running a business.”  She said, trying to bring the conversation back from the danger zone.

“That I am,” he replied.  “What about you, do you like cooking?”

They spent the rest of the dinner talking about their hobbies.  Clara told him, she wasn’t much of a cook, but she did enjoy baking and she could bake a mean soufflé.  She learned that James was an avid football fan and enjoyed playing, although didn’t have much of a chance to do it these days.  Clara felt like she was really getting to know him, as he told her some stories about his time in New York, but not before. 

“Well you were very right about that chicken,” Clara said as the server took her plate away.  “It was some of the best I’ve ever had.”

“I will never steer you wrong with food,” James added.  “Feel like dessert?”

“Oh I couldn’t possibly.  I’m full, but I also feel like we started this meal with dessert.”

“That’s true.  How about a night cap?  There’s a bar across the street that makes a really good martini.”

“I don’t know.  I’m already feeling the wine and I think I need to keep a level head around you.”

“Why?”  He questioned, as he put his credit card down on the table for the waiter.  “You don’t trust me?”

“I don’t really know you,” she answered, which was true.  Despite what she found out about him tonight she still didn’t know much about his past.  However, at the same time it was the Doctor’s past too and she was still willing to spend time with him.  Perhaps it was just the warning that the Doctor gave her that was making her so hesitant in being more social with James.  

“Then all the more reason to go for a drink,” he added.  The waiter came, interrupting their conversation.  James paid and once again they were alone.  “Come on, be a pal and don’t let me drink alone.”

“One drink.”  She suddenly was having déjà vu to the time she had said those same words to the Doctor and  she knew all too well how  that night  had  ended .   Surely this night would not be the same .


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments everyone! I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying the sequel!

Clara and James left the restaurant and made their way across the street  to the bar James had mentioned.  They were  sat at a quiet table towards the back and when the waiter came over, James ordered them each a martini.

“Look I know that you seem to want to know more about me, but I’m not a very open person.  I spent most of my life closed off and avoided making personal relationships,” James said.  “But I like you and I genuinely want to be friends, so I’ll do my best to try and be open.”

“Why no relationships?”  She asked, “You seem like a really great guy and you shouldn’t be alone.”

“It was just better that way.  Business can make a person hard and the fewer friends or girlfriends you have can make it easier.”  He answered as their drinks arrived.

“To new friends,” James toasted.

“To new friends,” Clara repeated.  “So there’s really no one special in your life?”

“No, why?”

“I just find it so hard to believe that at 56 you have never found anyone,” Clara replied.

“Ah, Allan told you how old is,” he said and Clara was surprised to hear him mention his twin again.  “I never tell anyone my age.

“Why not?   You shouldn’t be ashamed of it,” she replied.

“I’m not.  I just think that if a young woman knows my true age then they’ll lose interest in me.” James responded.  “They’ll think that I’m just a salacious old man.”

“I don’t think that of you,” she answered.  “Well unless you actually are?”

He gazed at her with a seductive look and Clara knew that the alcohol was starting to get the better of  both of them.  The problem was that she was randier than hell and it had been quite some time since she had a good shag.  In fact, the last time was with the Doctor, so it didn’t help matters that the man sitting across from her was his damn copy.  She should have gone home, but this martini was tasting really good and James’ eyes felt like they were boring into her soul.  She remembered when the Doctor looked at her like that.  The times that he took her hard peaks into his mouth.  The same mouth that James had.

He leaned in towards her.  “Maybe, maybe not.  I’d be willing to let you find out after the campaign is over, if you want?  Or perhaps the idea that I share a face with your former lecturer is a turn off.”

Bloody hell!  He just propositioned her.

“You’re not that identical,” she lied.  “Your hair is much shorter, which makes it look a little darker, and you don’t wear glasses.”

“So what I’m hearing Miss Oswald, is that you’re open to the idea.”

Was she?  Could she?  No, she couldn’t think about that now.  She still needed to work with him.

“I didn’t say that.  I just said that you and your brother seem very different.  Besides, you’re my client and this conversation is starting to go down a very  unprofessional path.”

“But isn’t it a far more interesting path to walk?”  He asked as he took a sip from his martini.

It was interesting that was for sure.  How did they even end up down this road?  She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that the idea of being with James was just a little bit intriguing. 

“James,” she gave him a warning tone.

“Oh don’t worry,” he said, stopping her from what she was going to say.  “I’ll be a perfect gentleman while we’re working together because I never mix work and pleasure.  Never.  That is a hard-fast rule.”

“And you don’t think asking me out tonight isn’t mixing the two?”  She asked as the waiter came back and James order them two more drinks.  “I said one drink, James.”

“Yes, but I want to know how far down this path you’re willing to go.  One more, I promise.”

“Okay, but answer my question.”

“I don’t think it is.  Having dinner with you, albeit nice, isn’t the kind of pleasure I’m talking about.” 

Clara eyed him, “What kind of pleasure  _ are you _ talking about ?”

James downed the rest of his martini and then ever so slightly flicked his tongue out across his bottom lip.

“A pleasure that I'm still trying to determine if you’d be into or not.”

“Only one way to find out,” she answered as the waiter  returned with two more drinks.

James said nothing but continued to stare at her while their drinks were put down and their empty glasses taken away.

“ You’re making it very hard for me to stick to my rule, Clara ,” he said after the waiter walked away.

“ I imagin e I do make it hard,” she replied.   What the hell was  she doing?

“You know you said you find it hard to believe I’m still single, but I find it incredibly difficult to believe you don’t have someone in your life.”

“My last relationship was very complicated and I decided to take a break from the dating world.”

“How long of a break?”  

“It’s been almost a year, I guess.”

“This bloke really did a number on you, didn’t he?”  He asked.

“Nah, I just really needed to focus on finishing uni and then getting a job,” she partially lied.  The Doctor certainly gave her some trust issues, but James didn’t need to know that.

“So wh o  was this young lad like that broke your heart?”

Clara gazed at him suspiciously, it really felt like he was looking to see what kind of man she might be into.

“Well for starters he was far from young.”

James tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow at her.  “Really?  How old was he?”

“Just older,” she answered, not wanting to tell him exactly for fear he might put two and two together.

James just stared at her and nodded his head.  It really felt like he was reading her, trying to put the pieces together of who he thought she might be.  He was about to say something in return, but all of a sudden, his mobile rang.

“Bloody hell,” he said under his breath and then looked at it.  “Sorry, but I need to take this.”

He got up from the table, leaving Clara alone with her drunken thoughts.  What the hell was she doing?  She really shouldn’t be flirting with him, but he was the one who started it all.  There was just something about him that she couldn’t help but be attracted to.  Was it his confidence, his charm?  It didn’t help matters that she could very easily picture what he looked like naked and very vividly imagine him in bed.  

“Sorry about that,” James said as he sat back down again.

“It’s okay,” Clara responded.  “I know you’re a busy may.”

“So tell me about the best place you traveled to,” James asked, clearly changing the subject from the dangerous path they had been going down. 

The two chatted some more, this time keeping things more platonic than before, and when they finished their drinks, James stayed true to his word and didn’t order more.  He was smart enough to know the dangers that would happen if they both had more to drink.  He paid the bill and the two walked out into the street.  

“Let me call my driver to take you home,” James offered.

“You sure you don’t want to take me home,” Clara slurred and ran a hand down James’ arm as he made his call.

“Oh Miss Oswald, the night I take you home is a night that you are going to need to have your faculties about you.”

“You seem very sure of that.”

“I am.  I’m the kind of man who knows what he wants and I always get what I want,” he replied as he leaned into her ear, placing his hand on her arm.  “Business first, pleasure later.  Finish the job Clara, and then we can celebrate.”

His hot breath tickled her neck and she couldn’t hide the shiver he caused.

James pulled back, just as the car pulled around and he opened the back door for Clara to get in.  

“Thanks for tonight” she said.

“Thank  _ you, _ ” he replied, “I look forward to seeing you soon.”  He smiled at her before he shut the door and then gave the driver her address.

Clara found herself sitting in the back seat contemplating her night.  She was more than likely going to regret it in the morning, but she did enjoy the provocative banter with James.  She started thinking about his lips, his hands, the way he smelled, the way he smiled, then she started thinking about how cute he looked in glasses.  Wait that wasn’t James, that was the Doctor.  The Doctor.  She had almost forgot about their morning together.  He was so gentle with her, careful, protective.  Boy did she miss his touch.  The way he was able to play her like a guitar.  His fingers lingering across her skin, trailing a path down towards her sex, slowly teasing her as her breath s  became shorter and shorter.  Man was it getting hot in here.  She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even realised that she was almost home.  

“Can you drop me off just a couple of blocks up?”

“Sure thing,” the driver replied.

Without even thinking about what she was doing, she got out of the car and walked up to the flat that wasn’t hers.  Damn.  She had no idea which one was his.  She took out her mobile and scrolled through her contacts until she landed on the one she wanted.

“Hello?”  The Doctor answered, clearly having been asleep.

“Doctor, what’s you flat number?”  Clara slurred; those drinks were really hitting her now.

“Clara?”

“Of course it’s Clara.  It’s not like I have a twin,” she answered, emphasizing I.

“Where are you?”

“Downstairs.”

“Okay, stay there I’m coming down.  Don’t move,” the Doctor said as he got out of bed and threw on some clothes.

Clara stood there waiting for the Doctor to appear.  It wasn’t long before he opened the front door and found  her staring up at the sky.

“I want to visit the stars!”  She exclaimed as he approached her.

“I bet you do,” the Doctor answered, completely confused as to why a drunken Clara had ended up at his place.  “Do you need some help getting home?”

She spun around and stumbled, but the Doctor caught her before she fell.  She looked up at him and remembered why she was there.  

“Do your lips still taste as good as I remember?”  She asked him, a line that she had used on him the first time they slept together.

The Doctor steadied her and then dropped his hands from her shoulders.  He knew where she was going with this and now he knew why she had landed at his door.

“Let me help you home, Clara,” he suggested as he started walking.

“But your place is right here,” she whined and pointed back.

“Yes, and yours is this way.”

“No,” she replied.  “I want to see your flat.”

“Some other time, okay.  You’ve had a long day and I bet you’re very tired,” he said as he started walking again hoping that she might follow him.

“I’m not tired at all, but I would like to get into bed,” she said still not moving.  “Preferably with you and no clothes.”

Bloody hell, this girl was going to be the death of him.  There was no way he would take advantage of her in her current state, but the thought that she clearly wanted to sleep with him was enough to send his memory into overdrive with the times that he had.

“Maybe some other time,” he answered.  “For now let’s get you home.”

“Doctor, I cannot go home to have another night with my sonic screwdriver,” she walked towards him very determined.  “I want the real thing, not a vibrating rubber substitute.”

He suddenly got a flash of her pleasuring herself and felt his member twitch at the image.  She clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer and the only way he was going to get her home was to go along with her.

“Okay,” he said.  “But we go to your place not mine.”

He held his arm out for her and she hooked hers into his, as they finally walked towards her flat.

“ Wherever , as long as I get to ride you until I scream.”

Oh he hoped she didn’t remember this in the morning.  He was making such progress with her and this would surely set them back if she did.

“And then you can take me whatever way you want.  Remember when we fucked on my couch?”

God, he wished she would stop talking as he felt another twitch.

“Remember, Doctor?”

“Of course I remember,” he answered quietly.

“You could fuck me like that again.  Oh, but damn I broke that Kills album.  Maybe we could find another one to fuck to.”

For the love of all that is  holy, he wished she  would stop talking about them fucking.

“You broke the album?”  He questioned, trying to get her to talk about something else.

“Yeah, after I found out about Rose.”

“Oh,” was all he could answer, “sorry.”

“Whatever, what’s done is done.  We just need a good shag.”  She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the front door of her building.  “Now where are my keys?”

She routed around in her bag until she finally pulled them out and tried to unlock the door, but kept dropping them on the ground.

“Here let me,” the Doctor offered as he picked them up.

They made their way up the stairs and the Doctor was trying to figure out what he was going to do once he had her inside.  He needed away to get her to bed and him home to a cold shower.  

He opened the door to her flat, allowing Clara to enter first.  Once he was inside,  she grabbed his hand again and started leading him  towards her bedroom, but the Doctor stopped her.

“Wouldn’t you like some water,” he asked, as he tried to pull her towards her kitchen.

“What I want is you out of those trousers and my lips wrapped around your cock.”

Oh god.  He was pretty sure a cold shower wasn’t going to help him now. 

“Well do you mind if I get some water?”

“Help yourself.  I’ll be waiting in the bedroom.  Naked,” she said as she walked into her room.

The Doctor gave a sigh of relief and hoped that if he waited long enough, she might just fall asleep.  He waited for about five minutes and then poured a glass of water, taking it with him down the hall.  Slowly he pushed the door open, hoping that she wasn’t actually naked.  Luck was mostly on his side as she had only made it as far as getting her shirt off and was passed out on her bed in a white lace bra, but still wearing her jeans.  He quietly set the water down on her bedside table and then grabbed a blanket that was thrown over a chair in the corner of her room.  Ever so gently he laid it over her, trying not to notice how  sheer her bra was. He looked at her sleeping and wished so badly that one day he would be able to sleep next to her again.  He turned her light off and left her room as quietly as he entered and he was pretty sure that she wasn’t waking up any time  soon.  

He walked back to his flat, wondering who she had been out with tonight , but more curious about the fact that he was her chosen booty call .   She was an attractive young woman and she probably could  have her pick of men to go home with, but she had wanted him.  He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up over a drunken moment, but lately it seemed that she was beginning to give him more and more with each passing day.

*************

Clara woke up to a pounding headache and a mouth that felt like the Sahara.  She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to open her eyes again, but her bladder was telling her she needed to use the loo.  Slowly she eased her lids apart and noticed that she was half undressed, lying on top of her bed with a blanket over her.  Odd, she didn’t remember doing that.  She then rolled to her side and saw a big glass of water, which she sat up and immediately drank.  At least she had her wits about her enough to leave water there.  Steadily, she got up, holding her head as she ambled towards the washroom.  Once she had finished, she changed into some sweats, glancing at the clock to see that it was eleven.  What the hell happened last night?  She remembered having dinner and then drinks with James, flirting, there was definitely a lot of flirting.  She slumped down on to her couch and put her aching head in her hands.  Oh man, how was she supposed to face him again after the things that were said.  He was her client and she had practically tried to seduce him last night.  Did she learn nothing from the Doctor?  The Doctor.  Why did she feel like she was forgetting something about him?  She got up to grab her mobile, when she heard a knock at her front door.  She looked through the peephole and saw that it was Rose.

“Hey,” she said as she opened the door.  “Did I forget we have plans?  I’m a tad hungover so if I did, I’m very sorry.”

“No,” Rose said as she entered.  “I need you to explain something to me.”

“Okay,” Clara answered, not liking the  tone of Rose’s voice right now.  “What is it?”

“Why the bloody hell were you with Allan yesterday?”  She asked angrily.

Oh  shit!   The bottom dropped out of Clara’s stomach as she tried to think of how to answer her.

“What?”  Clara replied, trying to buy some time.

“I saw you with him last night at Zafferano, Clara, and it looked like the two of you were on a date!”

James, she saw her with James.  Okay not good, but still fixable.

“How could you go on a date with my ex!  An ex that cheated on me by the way!

“Okay, calm down.  I can explain everything.  I wasn’t out with Allan,” Clara said as she tried to get Rose to stop yelling.  

“Clara, I have eyes and I’m pretty sure I know what my ex looks like.”

“Can we please sit down and I’ll explain?”  

The two girls sat, Clara on her couch and Rose in the chair next to it.

“Explain,” Rose said, sounding completely skeptical that Clara would have a good explanation.

“I was with his brother James.”

“Nice try.  He doesn’t have a brother.”

“Yes he does, a twin brother.”

“No he doesn’t Clara.  I think I would know.”

She was way to hungover to be having this argument with Rose right now.  All she wanted were some pain killers, a giant cup of coffee, and an  Egg McMuffin.

“I know it’s shocking.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into a meeting at work and saw him.”

Rose just stared at her in disbelief, not saying a word.

“Remember I said I was given my own campaign at work?”  Rose nodded.  “Well it was his company.”

“None of this makes any sense,” Rose stated, her face reading nothing but awe.

“You’re telling me.”

“You’re serious?!”  Rose exclaimed.

“As serious as a heart attack.”  

“Wow,” Rose said in complete disbelief.  “Were they separated at birth?”  

“No.  Something happened in their past that has made them not speak to each other for almost thirty-five years.  It’s probably why Allan never told you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?”  Rose asked.

“I wasn’t sure how you would react.  I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“I was so angry last night when I saw you.   JD and I walked into the restaurant and as we were being seated, I saw you, but then I saw who you were with, I lost it.  J D had to tell me to calm down and wait to talk to you in the morning.  We left before we even sat down.”

“I’m sorry I ruined your date,” Clara replied.

“It’s okay, we probably couldn’t have afforded that place anyway.  Clara, this is really messed up.”  Rose said.

“You’re telling me.”

“No. I mean for a client, you looked very comfortable with him.  You looked like you were flirting with him.”

“I assure you it was the alcohol.”  Clara said as she threw her head back on the couch.

“You sure?”

“Yes, I am not interested in dating someone that looks like your ex, Rose.”

Just then a knock came to her door and she wondered who it could be.  Couldn’t people just leave her in peace.  She got up and went over to the door.  Annoyed, she opened it without even looking to see who it was and if she thought her morning was bad with Rose, it was about to get a thousand times worse.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudods! Now let's find out who's at the door.

Clara opened her door to find the Doctor standing there with coffee and a McDonald’s bag, which may as well have had a cat in it because it was about to be let out.  As soon as she saw him, she got a flash of the night before and she suddenly remembered standing outside his flat.  That would have to be dealt with later because right now Rose turned from her spot in the living room and stood, staring at the two of them with an expression of absolute confusion.  The Doctor looked at her and then to Clara, and he didn’t need to say anything for her to understand the complete and utter shite he knew he was in.

“Clara?”  Rose questioned.

“Rose, I can explain.”  The Doctor said, as he put the breakfast down on the hall table and stepped inside.

“No!  I want Clara to explain.”  Rose  exclaimed, eerily calm and  still looking at her friend.

“She has nothing to do with this.  It was all me,” the Doctor  implored .

“ What was all  you?”  Rose said raising her voice and finally looking at him.

“Maybe you should sit down,” Clara suggested, now able to find her voice.

“I think I’d rather stand,” she replied not moving and crossing her arms.

The Doctor looked at Clara and gave her an apologetic look, while Clara nodded and knew that her friendship with Rose was likely about to end.  

“The woman I was having an affair with was Clara.”

“What!?  How?”   Rose  asked angrily.

“It’s a long story, but know that Clara is not to blame for any of this.  I was lying to the both of you.”

Rose started pacing the floor, clearly not sure of what was going on and trying to process all the information she was receiving.

“This is a fucking joke, right?   You’re telling me that  she was the student you had an affair with and that  all those times  you didn’t come home was because you were fucking my friend! ”   She shouted.

“No!”  The Doctor said, and then added quietly, “not all of the times.”

Rose stared at him shooting fire from her eyes.  

“The night before the dinner, you came home later than usual.   Was it because you were fucking this slag?!”

“Rose, Clara isn’t to blame.  You have every right to be angry, but be angry with me, not her.”

“I'll be angry with whoever I want!   Just tell me how this  happened?!”   Rose demanded.

“I  had a one-night stand with  Clara when I came to London for my meeting at U of L,” the Doctor said.

“We thought we’d never see each other again,” Clara added.  “Until he walked into one of my lectures.” 

“I had no intention of sleeping with her again, Rose.  I swear,” the Doctor ple a d ed .

“So what happened?  You tripped and your dick slipped into her?”

“Rose,” Clara interrupted.  “That was my fault.  I was interested in him and kept pushing him towards something.  He was trying to fight it, but I kept trying to persuade him otherwise.  However,” she looked at the Doctor.  “Had he told me he was engaged; I would have never done that,” she looked back at Rose.  “I just thought he was torn because of his job.”

Rose stood there staring between the two of them, with the iciest expression.

“ But I’m the one who acted on it.  I’m the one who made  this  mistake, not Clara ,” the Doctor said, trying to make her understand that he should be the one she was angry with and not  her friend .

“And how long have the two of you been dating now?”  Rose questioned with  ire .

“We’re not,” the Doctor added.  “Clara hasn’t spoken to me in months.”

“Oh come on!  How daft do you think I am ?!  You may have been able to fool me with this, but I’m not some dumb blonde .”   She looked at Clara.  “You were just lying to me now to cover up for this.”

“No, I wasn't!”  Clara exclaimed.

“Stop lying!  This makes way more sense than him having a twin brother!”  Rose said as she pointed at the Doctor, who’s turn it now was to look at Clara in confusion.  “The two of you were out on a date last night and you lied to cover it up!  Why else would he show up here with hangover food?”

If Clara thought she had a head ache when she woke up, she had a full- blown  migraine now.

“I wasn’t lying!”  She turned to the Doctor.  “For Christ’s sake tell her!”

“She’s not.  I do have a twin brother.”

“ I’ve  heard enough!”  Rose said as she strode towards the door.

“Rose, please!  You have to believe him.”

“Why would I believe him?!  He’s a liar and clearly you are as well .  I thought you were my friend, but I was very clearly wrong.  You can both go straight to hell!”   She said as she opened the door, stormed out, and slammed it behind her.

Clara turned towards the Doctor, not really sure of what to say and he clearly felt the same.  She walked over to the table and picked up her mobile, deciding that she should warn JD about the oncoming storm.  When she looked at it, she saw a bunch of missed messages from him this morning, clearly trying to do the same.  She made her call and when it was over, she slumped down on the couch again, just wanting this whole day to end.

“I’m really sorry, Clara,” the Doctor said as he sat in the chair that Rose was in earlier.

“What’s done is done,” she said, then suddenly remembered saying that to him last night.  “Oh god!  I drunk booty called you, didn’t I?”

She threw her head back and closed her eyes out of embarrassment.   This was just getting better and better.

“Afraid so,” he answered.  “Which is why I came over.  I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He stood up and walked over to the discarded breakfast and then went into the kitchen.  The whole time Clara didn’t open her eyes, keeping them closed, praying this was all a bad dream.  Would there ever come a time when she didn’t fuck up her life?

“Here,” the Doctor said and she opened her eyes.  “You should eat something.”

She took the plate he was offering her and saw that it was an  Egg  McMuffin.  Damn him.  He knew exactly what she needed and was bringing it to her, despite the complete arse she  had  made of herself.

“Thanks,” she smiled at him.  “I’m really sorry about last night.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he answered and then looked down at the coffee table.  “So you were with James last night.”

“Yeah,” she answered quietly. 

The Doctor wasn’t entirely sure what to think.  Was she on a date with him?  She couldn’t possibly be working on a Saturday night, especially getting that drunk.  It was also clear, that his brother was still the same pillock he remembered; getting a girl that drunk and not even making sure she made it home  safe.   He started to wonder if James had put the moves on her, and Clara at least had the sense to say no, but decided she would try and shag him as a substitute.  

“Clara,” he said with a sigh.

“Just stop, okay?  I don’t need a lecture, not now.  I know what I did last night was stupid and that I shouldn’t have drunk that much.”

“I wasn’t going to lecture you,” he answered.  “I’m just very confused as to what is going on.  What am I supposed to think about last night?”

“That your drunk ex made a dumb mistake.”

“How about that my drunk ex spent the night getting drunk with my twin brother and then showed up on my doorstep wanting to ‘ _ ride me until she screamed’ _ .”  Clara cringed at hearing her words back at her.  “Was it me you were looking for or him?”  He asked getting angry.

“You can’t possibly read into what I did or said last night!”  She answered, raising her voice.  “I’ll have you know; I’m not interested in either of you.”

He stared at her for a moment and then stood up.  “Fine.  I’ll leave you alone.”  He turned towards the door.

“John wait.”  Clara said, using his real name to get his attention.  He stopped and turned back around.  “I’m sorry, okay.  I know it looks like I tried to use you last night, but that was not my intention.  I met with James yesterday afternoon for a work thing and then he invited me to dinner.  I  felt  bad for him because he doesn’t know anyone here and he was tired of eating alone.  Dinner turned into drinks and quite possibly I started confusing the two of you in my mind.”

The Doctor sat back down again as she continued her story.

“I’m going to be honest with you because I think there have been far too many lies between us.  Proof with what just happened with Rose,” she sighed.  “Yes, James flirted with me and yes I flirted back.  I think you and I both know what happens when I’ve been drinking, so obviously I started feeling randy.  James, however was respectful of our working relationship and sent me home with his driver.   The  rest you  obviously  know  about  and probably a lot better than me.”

“Do you like him?”  He asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.  He knew that she was more than likely attracted to him because they did share a face.  However, if he indeed hadn’t changed, he also knew how charming James could be, especially when it came to women. 

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully.  “The truth is, I’m just getting to know him.  I'm intrigued by him and I’ll admit I’m attracted , obviously.   If I wasn’t, I  wouldn’t  have flirted with him.  But he’s my client and I’m not crossing that line.  Not again.  I crossed a line with you and we know what kind of trouble that got us into .”

“I  understand  that I have  no right to tell you who  you  can  and  cannot date, but I’m not going to lie, Clara , the thought of you with my brother makes my blood boil.”

“That’s fair and I appreciate you being honest about it.” 

“I appreciate it as well,” he answered.

Clara’s mobile rang, interrupting their conversation.  She reached for it on the coffee table and saw that it was Amy.

“Well I’m about to be yelled at,” she said as she answered it.

“What the hell is going on?!”  The fiery redhead asked on the other end.

“You’ve talked to Rose, I take it?”  Clara asked as she looked at the Doctor who now stood up.

“Of course I’ve talked to her!  Clara, you are playing with fire here!”

The Doctor looked at Clara and motioned that he was going to go.

“Amy, hold on a second, okay?”

“Is the Doctor still there?”

“Yes.  I’ll call you back okay,” she said as she hung up and then stood.

“You didn’t have to do that.  I could have just seen myself out,” the Doctor said.

“I just wanted to say thanks.   Thanks for the breakfast, and for not taking advantage of me last night.” 

“I would never do that, Clara.  I know you may not feel it or think it, but I do respect you and that is a line I’m not going to cross with you,” he replied.   “Let me know if you need anything.  And let me know if you need any help with Rose.  I know that she doesn’t probably ever want to see my face again, but you really aren’t to blame for this and I want her to know that.”

“You’re right about that, but I actually feel relieved that it’s out in the open now, despite what it might do to my friendship.”

“Good.  So are we still on for next Saturday?  I understand if you don’t...”

“No,” she interrupted him.  “We’re still on, that is if you want to?”

“I do,” he answered.  “Brockley Station at nine.”

“Why don’t you just meet me here instead and we can walk over there together,” she offered.  She wasn’t sure before about making that suggestion because she didn’t know if she was ready to have him in her flat, but after last night and today it seemed silly to think that.

“Okay,” he gave her a shy smile.  “See you then.”

He left and Clara felt more of the walls around her heart tumble away.  Amy was right, she was playing with fire and she needed to stop before more people got burnt.


	10. Chapter 10

Clara threw her bag under her desk and turned her computer on as she sat down.  She was actually looking forward to being back at work and trying to put the horrible weekend behind her.  What a complete cock up it had turned into.  After the Doctor left, Clara called Amy back and listened to her yell for about thirty minutes about how stupid she had been to go out with James and then how even more stupid she was for drunk calling the Doctor.  She agreed with her and promised her that it wouldn’t happen again.  That she was going to get her act together and focus on her job.  Clara then asked her how Rose was and if she thought that it would be okay for her to call her.  Amy advised her not to and to just give her time to process everything.  She decided that was best and that she would call JD in a few days to gauge Rose’s anger. 

Clara had just opened her email when her desk phone rang and it was Donna asking her to come to her office.  Panic hit her as she thought that maybe James had called her boss and told her about the inappropriate flirting, but then she quickly realized that he was just as guilty as her.  God, how was she supposed to face him again after saying the things she had, leading him on the way she did.  She stood and made her way to Donna’s office, ready to face whatever was waiting for her. 

“Morning Clara,” Donna said as she walked in. 

“Morning,” she answered. 

“Did you have a good weekend?”   

“I did, thanks.  And you?” she asked. 

“I did.  Lee and I went to Paris for the weekend.”  Lee was Donna’s husband of ten years.  Clara had only met him a few times, but what she knew of him, he seemed well suited for her boss.   

“Now,” Donna said, ready to get down to business.  “The reason I called you in here is because James called me yesterday to tell me that he has decided to move up the opening of his ice cream shops, which means you need to present your ideas to him and his Vice President by Friday.” 

Five days!  She had five days to put together an entire campaign presentation!  This was supposed to be happening in a month.  There was no way she could get it all done in that short amount of time.  She was freaking out on the inside, but trying to remain completely calm on the outside. 

“I know this is a lot, and I really tried to explain to James, just how difficult this will be, but he really insisted that it needs to be done.  He’s planning on opening the shops at the end of next month, so he needs to have all the advertising in place at the beginning of the month,” Donna explained. 

“I can do it,” Clara stated.  She didn’t want to let on to Donna that she really felt that she couldn’t.  She had three and a half weeks to get print, radio and TV ads done. 

“Clara it’s okay to say if you can’t or if you need help.” 

“I know, and like I said I will absolutely ask if I feel like I do.  I’ve already got a lot of ideas.” 

“Okay,” Donna replied, but Clara could tell that she was skeptical.  “James said that he is at your disposal for any help he can give you.  I highly recommend that you take it.  The more ideas you can run by him the better chance of everything going smoothly on Friday.” 

Clara immediately left Donna’s office and called James. 

“I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to call,” James said as he answered the phone, clearly more amused by the situation than her. 

“What the bloody hell?”  She asked. 

“What?” 

“Why the hell did you move up your launch dates?  You didn’t say anything to me on Saturday.” 

“Last time I checked, this was my business and I can do whatever I want,” he replied smugly. 

“Obviously, but a heads up would have been nice,” she replied sounding annoyed. 

“Well the truth is I decided on Sunday, so I couldn’t have told you on Saturday.” 

“And any reason this epiphany hit you?”  She asked. 

“You,” he simply replied. 

“Me?  Why on Earth would I be a factor?” 

“I don’t like to break my own rules and I very nearly did on Saturday night, so the sooner we get our working relationship done, then the sooner we can get on to more pleasurable things.” 

Oh no.  Her flirting had led to this and now her bloody libido was going to get her into trouble once again.  She should have never gone for dinner with him and just went home instead.  Everything that was wrong right now, would still be fine.  

“James, about Saturday night…” 

“No need to apologise,” he interrupted her.  “I enjoyed our evening very much.” 

“I did too, not the aftermath so much, but I enjoyed spending time with you.”  That wasn’t a lie, she really did enjoy getting to know him slightly better, but this needed to remain a platonic working relationship, even after the launch. 

“Well speaking of spending time together, please don’t hesitate to contact me for whatever you need this week.  I am completely at your beck and call and I want you to run as many ideas off me as possible, so that my VP will be happy with your presentation on Friday.” 

“Thanks, I want to put together a few ideas this morning, but perhaps I could come by this afternoon to go over some ideas, before I get too deep into what I’m doing.” 

Clara ended her call and went to set up camp in one of the quiet work spaces down the hall.  She was in for a busy few days and would more than likely be doing nothing but work, but hopefully it would all pay off in the end.  

********* 

The Doctor was sitting in his office grading essays when there was a knock at his door. 

“Come in,” he yelled, not looking up from his work. 

“You got a second?”  JD asked as he walked in. 

The Doctor looked up and put his pen down.  “Sure, have a seat.” 

“So I hear you had a hell of a Sunday,” he said as he sat. 

“You could say that.  How angry is Rose?”  He was genuinely worried about her and couldn’t even imagine what she must be going through right now. 

“Well I think I managed to get her anger from a ten to a seven, then back up to a ten again before bringing her back down to an eight.”   

“What did you say to her?” 

“I thought it might help Clara if I told her what I knew.  I told her how I was there the night you first met, how I had found out that she had slept with you when I ran into Clara and Amy a few days later.  Then I told her how I had seen you struggling with your feelings for Clara, but that I had no idea you were with someone.  She was angry that I knew all of this and never told her, but I explained that it wasn’t my place to tell her and that she had been hurt enough, that knowing it was Clara wasn’t important because she was innocent in all of this.  Which she does see, but I think she’s angrier at the fact that it looks like the two of you are dating now.” 

“We’re not,” the Doctor replied, annoyed that he was having to deal with this. 

“I don't know mate, you two looked kind of cozy at the restaurant,” JD answered, not fully believing him. 

“That wasn’t me JD, it was my brother.” 

“Seriously?!  So you really do have a twin?  Clara had called me a few weeks ago thinking you had shown up at her office, but I had never gotten the full story.  Why the hell did you never tell Rose about him?” 

“I have my reasons.” 

“Fine, I won’t push, but you’re going to have a hard time getting Rose to believe you because right now she thinks that you and Clara cooked the whole thing up.” 

“Agh, that tosser has done nothing but fuck up my life,” the Doctor said as he took his glasses off and threw them on the desk. 

“What were you doing at Clara’s on Sunday anyway?” 

“I was checking up on her.  She showed up at my door completely sloshed Saturday night and I knew she wasn’t going to be feeling well the next day.” 

“That was nice of you.  Things going well there?” 

“I think so.  I just hope that what happened doesn’t set us back.” 

“What was she doing with your brother anyway?” 

“Supposedly working.” 

“Didn’t look much like work to me.” 

“Yeah, I know,” the Doctor answered annoyed.  “She told me about the flirting.” 

“And you’re not worried about that?” 

“Of course I am!” The Doctor raised his voice.  “But I can’t exactly do anything about it.  She’s made it clear that she’s only interested in being friends, so I'm not going to do something stupid for fear of pushing her away again.  I just got her back and I'm not going to fuck it up.” 

He really meant that.  He didn’t want to risk having her walk out of his life again, but at the same time he didn’t want her falling for James.  He knew just how charming his brother was and how easily he could chat women up, believing whatever line he fed them.   

“Well mate, I wish you luck.  I've got a class to get to,” JD replied as he stood up. 

“Before you go, could you tell me Rose’s schedule?  I know I’m probably the last person she wants to see, but I think that I should really go and talk to her.” 

JD let him know what time she would be home and warned him to tread lightly. 

********* 

Clara had managed to get a lot done once she locked herself away.  Donna came and checked on her a couple of times and she shared some of her rough sketches, that her boss liked.  She only hoped that James did as well.  She arrived at his office and was told by his receptionist to just go on in.  When she opened his door, she was slightly taken aback to see him sitting at his desk with an attractive woman in her late forties standing behind him.  She was bent over his shoulder, looking at something on his desk, and Clara couldn’t help but notice how close they looked.  Her curly blonde, reddish hair, and stylish clothes made her look very well put together and she was the kind of woman that Clara imagined James would want to be with.  When they heard the door open, they both looked up and James smiled. 

“Clara, so good to see you.”  James said as she walked in.  The woman stood up and took a step away from him. 

“Hi,” she answered.  “If I’m interrupting, I can come back.” 

“Nonsense.,” he stood up and gestured to the woman behind him.  “Clara this is River Song, my VP of Operations in New York.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Clara said as she took a step forward and shook River’s hand. 

“Likewise.  James has said some very nice things about you,” she smiled at her. 

“River just flew in this morning, to help with the launch.” 

“I’m looking forward to your presentation on Friday, Clara.  James seems very confident that it will be good.” 

“Thanks,” Clara replied.  “There’s a lot that needs to get done between now and then, but I’m excited to give it.” 

“Well, I’ll leave you two to work then,” she turned towards James.  “I’m going to head back to the hotel and freshen up before dinner.” 

She kissed him on the cheek and then walked towards the door and Clara couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of relationship they had.  She seemed very intimate with him, but she also knew that James said he never mixed work and pleasure. 

“See you later, Sweetie,” River said just before she left. 

James smiled at her and then looked at Clara changing his look to one a little more seductive than what he was giving River. 

“Ready to get down to work?”  He asked. 

“Absolutely,” Clara answered, glad that they were jumping right into business and not discussing what happened on Saturday. 

An hour later, Clara was sitting next to James on the couch, with notes and drawings laid out on the coffee table.  She was making some notes about his suggestions on her story boards.  He liked most of her ideas, but there were a few that he wasn’t crazy about, and some that needed some tweaking.  She was going to have to go home and continue working in order to get the changes done and to feel like she was a head of the game. 

“So I’ll make these changes and then maybe come back on Wednesday to run it by you,” she said as she was gathering up all her papers. 

“Sounds good,” he replied, as he leaned back into the corner of the couch, crossing his leg and stretching his arm along the top.  “So how were you feeling on Sunday?” 

“Bad.  I probably should have just gone home after dinner.” 

“I asked my driver if you made it home okay.  He said that you asked him to drop you off up the street.” 

Oh good god.  It really felt like the mistakes of that night were going to continue to haunt her. 

“I did, yeah.” 

“Did you forget where you lived?”  He smiled at her.  He was very clearly trying to find out what she did. 

“Nah, just made an error in judgment.” 

“The ex?”  He asked. 

“How do you know?”  She questioned. 

“I think we’ve all been there, Clara.  I know how I was feeling when I went home alone that night and I’m sure if had an ex who lived down the street, I would have been calling her to come over.” 

“Yeah, well it was a mistake and luckily nothing happened.” 

“Pity for him.”  James replied and Clara decided to ignore his comment.  “He must be a bloody Saint for turning down someone as gorgeous as you.” 

“James, I think we need to talk about Saturday night,” Clara said and she put the papers down she was holding and turned to face him.  “I crossed a line that night and I shouldn’t have said the things I did, which I tend to do when I drink too much.  I really shouldn’t have tried to get you to come home with me.  It was completely out of line and unprofessional.” 

“Do you like me?”  James asked, which was not the response Clara was expecting. 

“We’re at work, James.  What happened to not mixing business and pleasure?” 

“I’m not mixing it.  I’m just merely asking a question that you’re avoiding.” 

“It’s complicated,” she finally answered. 

“Complicated because of work or complicated because of the ex?”   

She really wished he would stop asking questions.   She didn’t want to get back together with the Doctor, but at the same time she was enjoying spending time with him.  Was she just projecting past feelings on to James?   

“Of course it’s work.  The ex isn’t even in the picture.” 

“Yet you showed up at his place on Saturday night.” 

“Which I already said was a mistake.”  She answered getting annoyed with him.  “Can we please just drop everything and forget about Saturday night?” 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to aggravate you,” he said as he softened his expression, showing concern.  “I just wanted to know if there was any point to me pursuing something.  I don’t like wasting my time.” 

Clara sighed.  She knew getting involved with James would be a huge mistake, but there was just something about him.  He was different from the Doctor and that difference was drawing her in.   

“Why don’t you let me focus on finishing this campaign and then ask me again.” 

“Fair enough, Miss Oswald.”  He stood and walked towards his desk. 

Clara finished packing up her papers and then walked towards the door. 

“Clara,” James called and she turned to face him.  “Just in case you wanted to know, I do like you and I hope that when this is over, I can show you just how much.” 

Clara smiled at him and then turned back to the door.  “Bye James.” 

“Bye Clara,” he replied with the same sing song tone as her. 

These Smith men were going to be the death of her one day. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love the feedback I'm getting on this story! I feel like I've really invoked a lot of emotions :) It's now time to see that the Doctor is up to and give Clara a bit of a break...

The Doctor  had stopped by his flat after work and then made the hour trek over to Rose’s house, where he now found himself standing outside  contemplating knocking.   He knew  he needed to try and fix things between Rose and Clara, but he was worried about how his ex  would respond to him being here.   He broke her heart when they broke up and he felt like he was doing it all over again.

\------------

_ Sinatra was blasting from  _ _ his home office, while he was grading papers.  He was listening to it a lot th _ _ ese days, first because it reminded him of a happier time as a child, but then because it reminded him of Clara. _ _   Clara _ _ , with her big brown eyes that reflected so much emotion.  They inflated when she was sad, _ __ _ sparkled _ _  when she was happy, and  _ _ dark when she was angry.  Those eyes haunted him every night when he slept.  He  _ _ longed for her, but he had ruined any chance he had of being with her. _ _   He was a bloody coward and should have ended it with Rose before things went as far as they did with Clara, but he didn’t  _ _ and now he was paying for his mistakes. _

_ He dropped his pen and took his glasses off, dropping them on top of the papers and pinched the bridge of his nose. _ _   Why was he still with Rose?  Why hadn’t he done what he intended to do _ _  after he slept with Clara the last time.  Was he really that afraid of being alone? _ __

_ “Allan? You okay?”  Rose asked from the doorway. _

_ He looked up and put his glasses back on.  “Aye, just a headache. _ _   I didn’t hear you come home.” _

_ “I just did. _ _ ”  She glanced around the room and the Doctor could tell that  _ _ she was stalling.  “I was hoping we could talk.” _

_ There it was.  The start of a conversation that should have happened a long time ago. _

_ “I think that’s a good idea.” _

_ Rose stepped inside and sat in a chair in the corner of the room. _ _   The Doctor  _ _ got up to turn the music off and then  _ _ rolled his chair over to sit near her. _

_ “I'm going to ask you a question that I think I already know the answer to, so I want you to be completely honest with me.”  She was relatively calm and it almost made him afraid of the oncoming storm.  “Are you having an affair?” _

_ He  _ _ stared at her and _ _  saw the sadness in her eyes and he  _ _ knew the only way to move on, was to be honest.  He owed her _ _  that much. _

_ “Yes _ _ ,” he  _ _ answered quietly _ _. _

_ Rose looked vacantly at him.  He couldn’t tell what _ _  was going  _ _ on  _ _ through her mind _ _. _ _   Why wasn’t she screaming at him?  He wished she would yell, scream, do something.  He deserved that. _

_ “How long?”  She finally asked, her tone was terse. _

_ “A couple of months,” he answered quietly.  “But it’s over now.” _

_ She closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands.  The room was so quiet _ _ ,  _ _ except for  _ _ t _ _ he sound  _ _ of a  _ _ ticking clock on a far wall.   _

_ "I’m so daft,” she whispered. _

_ “No,” the Doctor asserted.  “I’m the daft one.  I shouldn’t have been such a coward.” _

_ She looked up and the Doctor’s stomach lurched at the site of her hurt expression.  How could he have been so selfish. _

_ “I knew,” she stated.  “I knew, but instead of confronting you about it, I tried to justify it.” _

_ “I'm sorry Rose.  I never intended to hurt you,” he sighed. _ __

_ She turned her head, unable to look at him, staring at some spot on the wall perhaps wishing  _ _ a _ _  vortex would open up and transport her  _ _ some place else _ _. _ _   They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, the Doctor unsure of what to say _ _. _

_ “What happens now?”  Rose finally asked. _

_ “I think if we’re both completely honest, _ _  Rose, _ _  th _ _ i _ _ s _ _  was never going to work _ _.  I just should have ended it when I realised it.” _

_ “Did you ever really love me?”  She asked,  _ _ her eyes beginning to well. _

_ “ _ _ I  _ _ do _ _ , just not in the way a husband should love a wife. _ _ ”  He reached out to cup her cheek, but she pulled away. _

_ “Don’t.” _ _   Tears  _ _ now flowing. _ _   “Don’t you ever touch me again,” she spat. _

_ He pulled his hand away, apologising. _ _   “I'll move my stuff to the guest  _ _ room _ _  until I can find a new place. _ _ ” _

_ He stood up and walked towards the door. _

_ “Who was she?” _ _   Rose asked, the tone in her voice breaking his heart. _ __ _ “Colleague or student?” _

_ He slumped his shoulders, not turning around because he couldn’t look  _ _ at her when he answered.  “Student.” _ __

\--------------

They didn’t speak much after that day  mostly because Rose didn’t come home until late or  the Doctor  would just spend the night at his office.  He  knew that eventually  the  day would come  when they would have to discuss  it  again, but had hoped maybe it wouldn’t.   Rose wasn’t angry with him at the time and he knew that anger was going to come today.  He needed to be completely honest with her about their relationship and why what happened with Clara, happened.  It was the only hope he had of fixing the friendship between the two women, that is if it wasn’t already too damaged.  He rang the doorbell, deciding it was time to face his issues once and for all.

“What do you want?”  Rose asked as she opened the door.

“Can I come in?  I really want to talk to you about everything that’s happened,” the Doctor urged.

“No.”

“Please, Rose.  I have something I want to show you,” he begged.

She eyed him for a moment and then stepped aside, letting him in.  The Doctor took the invitation and walked into his former home, following Rose into the living room where they sat on opposite  ends  of the couch.  He wasn’t entirely sure how to start, so he handed her a photo that he had in his back pocket.

“What’s this?”  She asked as she looked at  it.

“That’s a photo of my brother and I when we were twenty.  I know you think that Clara and I are lying about me having a twin, but I’m not.  I haven’t spoken to him in over thirty-five years and that is one of the last pictures of us together.”

Rose just stared at it, obviously trying to process everything.  “Why did you never tell me?”

“I’ve told no one about him.  And it would have stayed that way had he not come back and showed up at Clara’s office.”

“But why?”  Rose asked. 

The Doctor sighed, not wanting to tell Rose the truth, but he knew he needed to be honest with her if he had any hope of her forgiving Clara.

“He was a bad influence and I did things that I’m not proud of when I was with him.”

“Like cheat on girlfriends?”  Rose responded icily.

“I’m sorry Rose.  I honestly never meant to hurt you.”  He responded.

“You know , that’s  not even  what  hurts.  I knew you were sleeping with someone else, and yes, I cared, but I was in  complete  denial about the whole thing.  That’s on me.  But you were sleeping with one of my best friends!”  She yelled.

“I didn’t know that Clara was your friend.”

“No she was just some pretty brunette that you met one night and fucked.  Then, hey look at that she showed up in your class, so  let  the good times continue!”  She answered sarcastically.  

“That’s not what happened,” he answered trying his best to keep his composure.

“So you never fucked her in your office?”

The Doctor looked away, not answering.

“That’s what I thought.  No wonder you weren’t sleeping with me for months.” 

_ “ _ You know, don’t go acting all innocent in all of this,” the Doctor said, getting frustrated.  “You pulled away from me too.  And I believe it was right around the time that JD walked back into your life.”

“Don’t you dare blame me for your affair.”  She yelled.

“I’m not!”  He yelled back.  “I take full responsibility for everything!  All I’m saying is that your situation and mine are not that different.  The only difference being that I acted on my feelings and you didn’t.  You may not have physically cheated on me, Rose, but you sure as hell did emotionally.  And that is why we shouldn’t have stayed together for as long as we did.”

“Your situation is nothing like mine!”  She spat.  “I loved JD, and thought I was never going to see him again.  You had a one-night stand, that showed up in your class!”

The Doctor sighed and knew that he needed to tell her the whole truth, no matter how much it may hurt her, she needed to know.

“My one night with Clara, was more than that,” he answered her and saw that she was about to say something.  “Please, just listen to me.”  Rose closed her mouth and let him continue.  “You know that I was not one for relationships.  I made that clear to you when we started sleeping together and you agreed.  When I met Clara, and as difficult as this might be to hear, I felt something for her that night that I had never felt for anyone.  I wanted to see her again, but as fate would have it, she left before I even got her name and number.  I had no way of finding her.  I left the next day to go back to Glasgow and spent the entire train ride thinking about her.  How I had finally found someone I wanted more than just to shag.  I wasn’t able to stop thinking  about  what a relationship with her might be like, and as the ride went on, I knew that I was only torturing myself thinking about a life that would never be.  That's when my thoughts began to shift from her to you, the woman I had been sleeping with for the last year.  And I started to wonder if I could have a relationship with you because we had fun, good conversations, and a few things in common.   By the time I arrived in Glasgow I had convinced myself that this was what I wanted and went straight to your place when I got home.”

“All I was, was a substitute for Clara,” she uttered.

“I know it might sound that way, and at first  maybe .  I’ll be honest Rose, had I gotten Clara’s information, I would have never come back and asked you to marry me. But when I realised I would never see her again, I was fully committed to you and making our relationship work.  You have to admit that until we moved here, things were good.”

She looked pensive and then nodded her head in agreement.  “It was.”

“I should have ended it with you once I saw Clara again, but I honestly thought that I could fight the feelings I had for her.  We both did,” he gave a long sigh.  “It was just the more time I spent with her and got to know her, the more drawn to her I was.”

“But why didn’t you tell her about me?”  She asked, hurt.

“Because if I’m honest with myself, deep down I knew that if I did, I would lose her again and I just couldn’t, not again.  I thought I could just fight it, fight her.  But I was weak, and stupid and I gave in.”  He turned and looked at her.  “Nothing will ever excuse what I did Rose, but none of this was Clara’s fault.  Be mad at me, but don’t be mad at her.”

“See here’s the thing.  I feel like a complete idiot because apparently everyone I know, knew that the two of you had slept together.  I’m not mad at Clara because she fucked you.  I’m mad because she never told me the truth.”  

“I should have told you Rose.  Please blame me for this ,  not Clara,” he implored.

She glared at him, clearly contemplating what he said.  “What happened after she found out the truth?”

“She stopped speaking to me.  In fact, she hadn’t  spoken  to me until just a couple of weeks ago when she found out about my brother.”

“And why were you coming over to her flat on Sunday?”

“She showed up at my place drunk on Saturday night and I was coming over to check on her.” 

“So you two are friends now?”  She asked still with a tone of disdain.

He wasn’t sure how to answer that.  He liked to think that they were, but he wasn’t sure what Clara would think of their relationship now.

“Maybe.  We’ve just hung out a couple of times.”

“She forgives you for what you did?”

“I’m not sure.  You’d have to ask her.  I’m just happy that she’s speaking to me again,” he answered truthfully.

Rose looked at him and her expression softened slightly.

“You really like her, don’t you?”

“It doesn’t matter what I feel.  I fucked everything up because I just couldn’t be honest with either of you,” he answered as he looked down.

“That you did.”  She replied.

He looked up at her.  “Will you please just talk to Clara.  I don’t want your friendship to be ruined because of my mistakes.  Hate me all you want, but don’t hate her.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I ask.”


	12. Chapter 12

Clara was staring at a bunch of slogans  hoping that one of them would jump out at her as the one she should pitch.  She had run a few by James but he didn’t like any of them so she found herself back at the drawing board.  It was Tuesday night and she needed to have  something put together for Thursday to show Donna. Think, think, think.  She started flipping through her notes, hoping that something would trigger an idea, but nothing.   How could this be happening?  She had been so sure of herself every time she was with James, but now she was feeling lost  in a sea of thoughts. She picked up her phone and started typing a text.

** Clara:  ** **** ** Hi.  Are you free right now? **

She waited for a reply and it wasn’t long before it came.

** James:  ** **** ** Yeah.  What’s up? **

** Clara:   ** ** I know it’s late but I was wondering if I could do some brainstorming with you? **

** James:  Absolutely ** **.  You want to call or  ** ** do you want meet ** **? **

She knew that she could likely accomplish what she wanted with a phone call, but she  wanted to see him.

** Clara:  Could we meet at your office? **

** James:  Sure can.   **

** Clara:  Great.  I'll see you in  ** ** 30 mins. **

** James:  See you soon. **

She packed up her notes and quickly changed out of her yoga pants  and into  jeans  before she  called an Uber.   She stood out front waiting for the car, trying to justify her reasons for going to see James , but the truth was she just wanted to see him again.

When she arrived outside James' office , she was surprised to see his door was slightly open. She was just about to push the door open more when she heard someone on the other side say her  name.

“ Just  be careful with  Clara , James.”   A female  voice spoke  and Clara was sure that it was likely River.

“I am, River.  I haven’t crossed any lines with her.” he answered.  

“I think that you might be getting dangerously close to doing that and you need to remember the reason as to why you’re back here.  Don’t let some pretty young girl turn  your  head and make you lose sight of that.”

What was the reason he was here?  Clara had asked him before, but he didn’t answer her, which she never really thought about again.  However, there clearly  was  some reason why he came back to the UK.   Clara continued to listen to see if she could find out  any more information .

“I haven’t,” he answered annoyed.  “I’m well aware of what's at stake.”

“Are you?  Because I’m starting to think that you’re thinking more with the wrong head.”

“River!  That’s enough,” he stopped her.  “It’s none of your business what happens between Clara and I.”

“It will be if I have to fix a problem later on.”

“You may fix a lot of problems for me, but Clara won’t be one of them.  Now will you get the hell out of here.”  

Clara stepped away from the door, not wanting the pair to know that she overheard them.  What kind of problem would River have to fix if she and James did get together and what was at stake if they did?  She waited a few minutes before she knocked on the office door.

“Come in,” James yelled.

She pushed the door open and saw that River was just putting some papers in a bag and putting her coat on.

“Hi,” she said as she entered.

James looked up from his computer and gave her a charming smile that made her feel welcomed.  

“Hi,” he replied.  “You remember River, right?”

“Of course,” she answered.   “Nice to see you again.”

“You too.  Perhaps some time we can actually spend more than a couple of minutes together,” the older woman responded as she picked up her bag and walked towards the door.  “James, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Aye,” he responded as he got up and went to sit on the couch.

Clara watched River leave and wondered again just how well these two knew each other.

“Busy woman,” Clara said as she took out her notebook.

“That she is.  Off to  maim  more men for sure .”

“You and she ever, you know?”   Clara asked curious to know the answer.

“ Ever what?”  James asked back, clearly knowing what Clara was getting at but wanting to see if she would actually say it.

“Mix business and pleasure?”

“I told you I don’t do that, Clara,” he replied.

“Just thought maybe there was a reason for the rule and that reason was her.”

He eyed her before he spoke, and Clara felt like he was reading her.  Like his eyes were some kind of scanner and he was going to be able to determine her deepest darkest secrets.

“There has never been anything between River and I and there never will be.   She is not who I'm interested in.”

They stared at each other for a moment, Clara  feeling the heat rise in her the longer she held his gaze.   She had no doubt that if it weren’t for this campaign, James would  have been tearing her clothes  off  of her and bending her over his desk and she was beginning to think she would let him.

“Okay well, now that we’ve established that, I have some ideas I want to run by you. ”

“Fire away,” James said as he stretched both his arms across the couch.

Clara went into her ideas, trying to gauge his reaction to different ones and get a feel  for  what he might be more interested in.  So far ,  she could tell he wasn’t really into any of her slogan ideas until a thought hit her .

“What about this, there’s a couple on a first date, a family enjoying a day at the park, an elderly couple sitting near the  river.  All of them enjoying Mondasian ice cream, creating memories and making stories.”  She saw James sit up  and lean forward, and she knew he was intrigued .  “ Each one has a different tag , something like happiness in every scoop,  a story in every scoop.  You know something  along  those lines. ”

“ I love it,” James said.  “I knew you’d get there eventually.”

“You really like it?”  

“Needs some tweaking, but yeah.  It’s good.”

“Great.  Now I just need to go home and start putting together my presentation  and  flush  some of these ideas out. ”

She bent over and started picking her papers  up  off the table  and w hen she did , she didn’t realise that she had given James a clear view down her top.  She heard his breath hitch and looked up to see his mouth slightly open and his eyes glued right to her chest.   She stood up, which caused him to look away.

“Like what you saw?”  She asked.

He looked at her and gave her a devilish grin.  “I'm curious about your tattoo.   Any more?”

Clara had  gotten  drunk one night while she was in Sydney and gotten a tattoo of a small red heart  on her left breast .   She  wished  now she had never done it, b ut it  seemed like a really good idea at the time.

“Maybe, maybe not. ”  She answered being coy.

“That sounds like a challenge, Miss Oswald,” James said as he got up and walked towards her.   “Would you like me to try and find out  one day ?”

God, the more time she spent with him the harder it was for her to fight her feelings.  She really did want him to find out that she  had two more and both were in places that  she would have to have a lot less clothes on for him to find.

“Maybe, maybe not.”  She gave him the same answer.

“You know, you might be playing hard to get, but I can  tell that you are practically  undressing me with your eyes.”

Little did he know that she really didn’t have to try hard to imagine him naked.

“Oh ,  you think so,” she responded.  “The same can be said for you.”

“Yes ,  it can. ”  He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.  “ And you’d be right. ”

He was so close to her that she could smell his cologne, a musky scent of leather, spice and a hint of rose.  It was almost intoxicating, drawing her in to him.  She knew she should step away, put some distance between them, but she didn’t want to.

“James,” she whispered.

“Tell me you want this Clara.  Tell me you want it as badly as I do.”

His warm breath tickled her ear and that sensitive spot right behind her lobe that she loved to have kissed.  She wanted him to just move a little closer and press his lips onto  it . If she finally admitted what she had been fighting, would he?  Would he break his rule for her?  He stood back up and looked her in the eyes.

“ Gotcha ,” he said.  “Your mind might be trying to fight this, but your eyes are full of so much desire Clara.  You can’t deny what your eyes are telling me.”

She took a step away and turned to grab her bag that was on a chair.

“I really need to get home and work on this.”  She was trying her best to keep her composure, but the truth was that he had just aroused the hell out of her and she needed to get far away from him before she did something she shouldn’t.

“Don’t go.  Have dinner with me?”  James asked.

Clara pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and took a step closer to him.  She could tell that he wanted to have control of the situation, but that it was killing him that she wouldn’t give him a straight answer.

“I think you and I both know what will happen if we go for dinner.  I have a lot of work to do and nursing a hangover will not help.”

“Fine, no wine then.  Just dinner,” he was pretty much pleading with her and she knew that she had the upper hand now.

“I really can’t.  I need to get  this  done, since this asshole client I have moved up his launch.”

“What a jerk,” he grinned at her.

“He really is.”  She took a step towards the door and then turned to look at him before she left.  “But I am looking forward to when this is all done so I can finally do more pleasurable things.”

He gave her that devilish grin again.  “I’ll see you Friday.”

“Friday.”  She returned his smile and walked out.

\--------------

Clara was pacing around the boardroom, feeling incredibly anxious.  She didn’t know why because she felt very confident with what she had put together and was pretty sure that James was going to like it, but perhaps it was River that she was worried about.  She seemed like a very tough woman and one that might be difficult to please.  Donna came in to check on her and to see if everything was ready, then gave her a few minutes to gather her thoughts before she brought in James and River.  

Once everyone was seated Clara jumped right into the presentation and didn’t stop until it was done a half an hour later.  She had tried her best to not look at James too much during ,  because she knew the effect he had on her and if he gave off any expression that said he didn’t like it she may have faltered.  She was now standing there holding her breath waiting for a response.

“Clara,” River said.  “I have to say I had my doubts at how good James thought you were, but he wasn’t wrong.  I really like the direction of this.  Emotions and stories that make the ice cream a part of our family almost.  It’s very wholesome and I think just the image we are going for.”

Clara let out a sigh of relief.  Her job was far from over, but at least she had made a successful pitch, now it was just putting it all into action.

“I have to agree with River, Clara.  This was very good,” James added.

“Thank you, both.”

“ Great work,  Clara,” Donna said and Clara smiled at her  then looked at River and James .  “Would the two of you like to follow me to my office  so  we can finalize the deadlines and contracts.”

“Go ahead you two.  I’ll catch up in a moment,” James said.  “I just need to check my messages.”

Clara noticed the look that River gave him just before she followed Donna, clearly knowing that he had just lied. 

“Well done you,” James said as he stood up and walked towards her.

“Thanks.  I really couldn’t have done it without all the help you gave me.”

“Nonsense.  This was all your idea.  I just merely told you what I liked and didn’t like.”

“Well regardless, thanks,” she smiled at him.

“So you feel like celebrating?”  He asked.

“Honestly, I think I just want to go to bed,” she answered. 

“Well, we could do that too,” James grinned at her.

Clara looked at him and rolled her eyes.  “Sleep James.  I’m exhausted.”

“Oh okay then.  We’ll save the celebrating for when everything is done.”  He winked at her.

“Don’t you have some contracts to go sign?”  Clara urged him, knowing the direction this conversation could go and not wanting to have it at work.

“I do.”  He moved towards the door.  “But  first I wanted to see if you might be i nterested in going to a charity dinner with me next Saturday .   I really don’t want to go alone and would love if you’d come with me.”

Clara thought for a moment as to if this was a good idea.  She knew that  she should probably say no, but at the same time it might be fun to attend an event like that with him.

“I promise to keep it strictly professional ,” he added obviously seeing her hesitation.

“Why do I not believe you?”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “Don’t know.   I've been  nothing but a gentleman around you.”

“Yes your hands have been, but  the words out of  your mouth on the other hand, not so much.”

“ Okay,  I promise my hands will remain professional .  Can’t say what devious  activities  my mouth has planned though.  It kind of has a mind of it’s own.”

“You’re a very bad influence mister.”

“So I’ve been told.  Is that a yes  then ?”

“It’s a yes,” she smiled at him.

“Great!  I'll call you later this week and finalize plans. ”

She was sure that this was likely a mistake, but she would be lying to herself  if  she didn’t admit that she was looking forward to  it and couldn’t help but wonder  just how devious his mouth  could  get.


	13. Chapter 13

It had been such a busy week that Clara had almost forgotten about  her plan to take photos with the Doctor.   Luckily,  she woke up with just enough time to shower, but not enough time  to get dressed before she heard a knock at her door.  With a towel wrapped around her head, she grabbed her black silk robe  and threw it on over her damp body.

“So sorry, I slept in ,”  she said as she answered the door .

The Doctor stood on the other side, slightly stunned at the sight before him.  Her robe clung to her body, showing off the curves he remembered so well , that he had to avert his eyes to not stare at her.

“That’s okay.  I can wait outside if you want?”

“Don’t be daft.  Just have a seat and I'll be right out.”

The Doctor took a seat and looked around her flat.  He was too distracted with Rose the last time he was here to notice that the place looked more like Clara’s than it did a year ago when she took it over from her Gran.  She had more pictures hanging on the walls and her vinyl collection had grown substantially.   He got up to look through her collection and noticed that she still had the ones he had bought her, including the Sinatra one, but she did indeed get rid of the Kills album.  He didn’t want to think about her state of mind when she had broken it  because he knew she was likely feeling incredibly heartbroken.  The record for her would have been a reminder of the night they shared, which was clearly something she didn’t want to think about.   He , on  the other hand, often  p ut that record on to remember that night .  It was a night he never wanted to forget.

“See anything good?”  Clara spoke from behind him.

“You’re building this up very well .”  He pointed at the records.  “ Some really good selections and some bands that I haven’t heard of. Strumbellas ?”

“They’re a Canadian band.  One of my friends from Toronto actually told me about them and  we  went to one of their shows while I was there a few years ago.”

“I'll have to check them out,” he said.  

“When we get back, you can borrow the album if you want.”

“That would be great.  Thanks.”   He smiled at her.  “You ready to go?”

“Sure am.”

They grabbed their camera bags and made their way to the train station , stopping for coffee and scones on the way.  Clara couldn’t help but notice that the Doctor got a blueberry one and wondered if  he liked the fruit just like his brother did.

They chatted some more about music and then  found themselves talking about movies .  Clara admitted that she was a fan of the Marvel Universe and  he admitted  that he was as well.  This lead to an intense debate about how  Avengers, Endgame was going to end.   Clara was surprised to hear that the Doctor was a fan, she just imagined that he would be more into foreign  films , or documentaries.  Turned out  he didn’t mind either of those genres, but  his guilty pleasure was a good blockbuster.

Once they arrived at the park, Clara immediately dragged the Doctor to the zoo.  She hadn’t been there since she was a little girl and was really looking forward to grabbing some photos of the different animals, especially the gorillas.

“You didn’t tell me there was a zoo here,” the Doctor said as they walked towards the entrance.  

“Yeah, it’s a pretty big park.  I thought we could wander around the zoo and then take a stroll through some of the gardens this afternoon.”

“Sounds like a good plan.  So what kind of animals do they have here?”  

“All kinds, but my favourite are the gorillas.”

“Me too,” he replied.  “Monkeys as well.  I could honestly watch them for hours.” 

Clara smiled at him and nodded her head.  “I should show you the pictures I took when I was in Rwanda.  I spent 2 days on a gorilla trek and got some really great shots.”

“Wow, that sounds incredible,” the Doctor said, impressed that she had taken such a trip.

“I highly recommend it.  In fact, I really want to go back again someday.”

The Doctor gave her a tiny smile as they stepped up to the wicket to pay for their tickets.  The Doctor took out his wallet and immediately paid for both of their entrance fees. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Clara said.

“Do what?”

“Pay for me,” she answered.  

“Oh it’s no big deal.  You can get lunch if you want.”

“Deal.  Now let’s go find the gorillas.”

The pair spent most of their time taking photos  of  the primates and just sitting and watching how the animals interacted with each other and the visitors to the zoo.  At times it felt like they were putting on a show for everyone.  The Doctor managed to snap a couple of photos of Clara, without her noticing, as she was watching one of the baby gorillas jumping and swinging around the habitat.  She just looked so happy and he wanted to capture that moment.  He couldn’t help but imagine what she must have been like while she was traveling and wondered if one day, he might be able to go on  an  adventure with her.  

They left the gorilla pavilion and made their way over to the penguins where they took more pictures.  It wasn’t long before the morning had gotten away from them and Clara was feeling rather hungry, so she suggested they grab some sandwiches and find a quiet spot to have a picnic in the park.  The Doctor agreed, but then again, he would have followed her anywhere she suggested.  He just wanted to be with her.

“So I went and saw Rose this week,” the Doctor said deciding that this was likely a good time to tell her about his visit.

“Really?  How did that go?”  Clara asked, surprised that he went to see his ex.

“Not well, but she at least listened to me.  I took her a photo of James and I to prove to her that we aren’t lying about that.”  He reached into his camera bag and pulled out the picture in question and passed it to her.

She stared at the photo, mesmerized at seeing the two of them together.  They looked happy, both of them laughing, both of them much younger.

“This was the last photo of him and I together.”  Clara couldn’t help but hear the hint of sadness in his voice.

“You both look happy.”  She said as she continued to stare at the picture.

“We were, once upon a time.”

She turned the picture around to him and pointed at one of  the  men.  “This is you, isn’t it?”

“Aye,” he smiled at her.  “How can you tell?”  

“It’s the hair.  Yours is longer, still is.”  She returned his smile.  “Plus it’s your eyes.  I can’t quite pinpoint what it is, but the look in yours is different.  I don’t want to say they look sad, but there’s just something different.”

She handed him back the picture and he looked at it for a moment before he put it away.

“Yeah, well that was a lifetime ago.”

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I just don’t get it.  I’ve gotten to know James over the last couple of weeks and I can’t imagine what could have happened to cause such a rift between the two of you.”

The Doctor sighed, not wanting to get into  it  with her, and also not liking the idea of her spending time with his brother.  He wondered just how well they were getting to know each other.

“He was an incredibly bad influence and nothing good  ever  came out of his grand ideas.”

Clara thought back to yesterday and how he had gotten her to agree to the charity dinner.  “Well he can be very persuasive, that’s for sure.”

The Doctor looked at her.  “Just how well have you gotten to know him?”

“I don’t know.   I’ve spent a fair bit of time with him this week.  I had to give my presentation to him and his VP yesterday, which went really well, by the way.”

“I’m happy for that.  I just wish it wasn’t his company that was bringing you this success.”

“I wish that you would just talk to him.  Try and clear the air about whatever happened,” Clara prodded more.

“I don’t want to and I’m sure he feels the same.”

“And if he did, would you want to?”

“Not likely.”  The Doctor looked out over the open field.  Clar a  could tell that she couldn’t push the subject any more.

“So how did it go with Rose, once she believed you about James?”  

“She’s very angry that it seems everyone knew about us and didn’t tell her the truth.  I tried to explain that no one wanted to hurt her when there was no need to.  It never mattered who I was cheating with, just that I had.”

“She still doesn’t want to talk to me?”  Clara asked.

“She said she would think about it,” the Doctor replied.  “But just so you know, I was completely honest with her.”

Clara gave him an odd expression, wondering what he meant by that.  She thought all the secrets were out in the open.

“I told her that I never would have asked her to marry me, if I had gotten your name and number after our one-night stand.”

“Oh,” she replied, shocked that he was that open with Rose. 

“I just needed her to know that it was more than just some tawdry affair and that even though it might hurt her that I felt more for you than I ever did for any woman, including her.”

“That must have been hard for her to hear.”

“I imagine it would be, but I’m tired of the lies Clara.”

She looked at him and could see the sincerity in his eyes.  All she could do was nod her head in agreement and knew that she should likely tell him the truth about what she was feeling for his brother, but she wasn’t being completely honest with herself, so how could she be with him.

They didn’t talk any more about Rose or James, but instead talked about some of the Doctor’s trips he had taken while he was in graduate school.  It was a pleasant afternoon and Clara was sad to see it come to an end, but she needed to get home in order to get ready for a dinner at her dad’s house.  When they arrived back at their neighbourhood, she reminded him to stop at her flat so he could borrow the  Strumbella’s  album they had talked about earlier.

“Thanks for this.  I’ll give it a listen and give it back to you next time I see you,” the Doctor said.  He was wondering when that might be as she hadn’t suggested another outing like she had the last couple of times they had gone out.  

“Yeah, no rush.  I’m actually going to be very busy the next few weeks with work, so I’m not sure when that will be.”

The Doctor was disappointed at hearing this and tried to hide it from her.  He also didn’t like the idea of her spending less time with him and more time with James.  He wanted to know what she felt for him because she had said a few things today that made him think that she was getting closer to his twin.

“Okay,” he answered trying his best to hide his sadness. “I just want you to know I’ve really enjoyed the time you’ve given me and thank you for giving me a chance.”

“I’ve enjoyed our time too,” she smiled at him.  “You can never have too many friends.”

She was really enjoying her time with him, but she didn’t want him to think that this was more than what it was.  She really liked him, but she still wasn’t sure if she could trust him again.  He had definitely been proving to her that he wasn’t the man she thought he was, but right now she was just feeling more  of  an attraction to James.

“Yeah, friends are good,” he gave her a sad smile and then moved towards the door.  “Thanks again for this by the way.”

“Anytime.  I’ll call you when I have some free time and you can let me know what you thought of it.”

“Sounds good,” he replied and then left.

He knew that Clara only saw him as a friend now, but he had hoped that the last couple of outings would make her start to see him in a different light.  See that he wasn’t really the man she thought he was.  He knew that he was definitely feeling more for her and he had hoped that she did as well.  The problem was that he feared his brother might be the reason for that.  If Clara was falling for him, then she was in for nothing but more heart ache and he needed to find a way of stopping that from happening.  He didn’t want to see James, but maybe it was time he did.


	14. Chapter 14

Clara had had a long week at work and was very happy that it was finally the weekend and she could let off some steam.  Since everything had been approved with the Mondasian campaign she now had a lot of dead lines to meet with the print and commercial advertising and had spent many late nights this week with the design department.  Now that is was Saturday night, she was looking to let loose, albeit not that loose knowing who her date was for the evening.   

James had called her the night before and told her he would pick her up at seven and it was now five to, so she was sure he would show up any minute.  She gave herself one more look over in the mirror and felt that she was definitely going to make his jaw drop when he saw her.  She had opted to wear a long black sequined form fitting, side slit dress with a deep vee neckline and thin shoulder straps that crisscrossed over an open back.  She finished it off with a strappy heel to give her some height and an upswept hairdo.  She was just applying her red lipstick when she heard a knock at her door.  She opened it and immediately realised that she had accomplished what she wanted and for the first time, James was speechless. 

“Hi,” she said, taking in the sight of him in a black tuxedo.  “You look rather James Bondish tonight.” 

He still didn’t respond right away as he scanned Clara from head to toe.  Finally he looked at her and gave her that devilish grin that she was coming to enjoy. 

“Well if I'm James Bond, I hope that makes you Pussy Galore.” 

“I prefer Xenia Ontatopp.”  She winked at him. 

“You know your Bond movies,” he replied, impressed. 

“Yep, watched them all with my dad.”  She stepped aside to allow James to come in.  “I just need to grab my bag.  Make yourself at home.” 

James stepped in and Clara walked in the direction of her room to put the finishing touches on her make up, spray a little perfume, and check to make sure she had everything she needed in her clutch.  When she came back out she saw that James was looking at her records and for a brief moment an image of the Doctor flashed through her mind.   

“See anything you like?”  She asked realising that she had said the exact same thing to the Doctor a week a go. 

James looked at her with a predatory gaze and walked towards her.  “I most certainly do.” 

He got close enough to her that she thought he was going to touch her, but instead he walked past her and opened the door.  Clara grabbed her keys and once she had locked everything up, James offered her his arm.  She hooked her hand through it, but before they left, James looked at her and for the first time she saw a softer look in his eyes. 

“You look absolutely stunning, by the way.” 

“Thanks,” and she couldn’t help the blush that came to her cheeks. 

They arrived at the charity dinner, which was being held at the Savoy, and Clara immediately felt out of her element.  She had never been around so many rich people in her life and she was suddenly reminded that James was one of them.  He found where they were seated and once again took her arm to lead her towards their table in the elegantly decorated ballroom.  Once they arrived at their table James knew a couple of the people that were seated there and introduced Clara to them.  He had met Nigel and Elizabeth Jones several years ago in New York at a similar charity function and had gotten to know the couple well as they divided their time between their homes in London and America. 

“James, you old fool, I guess the rumours were true.  You really made the move back home.”  Nigel said.   

“That I have,” James replied as he took a seat. 

“What made you leave the States after all this time?  You always said you would never come back here and often wondered why Elizabeth and I stayed here.” 

James just looked down at his plate, clearly not wanting to answer the man’s questions.  “Well I guess I had a change of heart.” 

“That’s a pretty big change of heart,” Elizabeth added. 

“Elizabeth, that is a gorgeous necklace,” Clara stated trying to change the subject. 

“Oh thank you dear.  Nigel bought it for me for our twenty-fifth anniversary last year.” 

That did the trick and took the spot light off of James as the older couple began going on about the party they had had to celebrate their milestone.  James was clearly grateful because she felt his hand slide into hers, that was resting on her lap, and gave it a gentle squeeze.  She looked at him and he gave her a soft smile and mouthed thanks to her.  She just gave him a simple wink and turned back to Elizabeth.  It wasn’t long before more people arrived at the table, all of which the Joneses seemed to know and all the focus was now off of James and Clara. 

“I really hate these things,” James said, putting his arm around the back of Clara’s chair and leaning over to whisper in her ear. 

“Then why did you come?” she turned her head and found that her face was just inches away from his. 

“Because I have to.” 

“Who says?” 

“The rich people handbook.  You get it once you reach official millionaire status.” 

Clara chuckled at his joke.  “For some reason I feel like you wouldn’t follow the rules in that book.” 

“True, but some are very important,” he smiled.  “Anyway, thanks for coming with me.  These things are so dull when you’re alone.” 

“Thanks for inviting me.  I’ve always wondered what a fancy dinner at this place would be like.” 

“Clara dear, how long have you and James been dating?”  Elizabeth asked interrupting their little moment.   

Clara looked at her, unsure of how to answer that question because they weren’t dating, but she didn’t know what James would want her to say.  She turned to him looking for help and he gave her a wink before he answered for her. 

“This is actually our first date, Elizabeth.”   

Clara looked at him, because she hadn’t thought that this was actually a date and wasn’t sure if he was just giving the older woman a line or if he meant it. 

“How lovely.  You two make a really cute couple.” 

“Thank you,” Clara answered, but before she could say anything to James someone started speaking from the front of the room, causing everyone to draw their attention to the MC for the night. 

Dinner was delicious and Clara thought she was ruined for all future meals.  The main course was beef Wellington with pomme purée, kale and red wine jus and the dessert was chocolate dèlice with apricots.  Throughout the meal, James would periodically lean over and whisper in Clara’s ear giving her commentary about the people around them and she couldn’t help but laugh at his jokes.  Once the meal was over the MC stated that they would take a moment to clear the tables and then get on to the more pleasant part of the evening of drinking and dancing.  James stood up and helped pull Clara’s chair out, excusing the two from the table and taking her hand to lead her towards the bar. 

“Sorry, I needed to get away from that lot.  So damn dull.” 

“No complaints from me,” Clara replied.  “They were rather full of themselves, weren’t they?” 

“You’re telling me.  What’s your damage tonight Miss Oswald?”  The bartender had come to take their order. 

“White wine.” 

“And a scotch for me,” he told the young man who went to get their drinks. 

“You know I had to spend most of that dinner trying to imagine what you have on under that dress, just to keep myself from falling asleep.” 

“I imagine that wasn’t very hard for you,” she answered. 

“Oh the contrary, it was very  _hard,”_ he whispered in her ear. 

The bartender returned with their drinks and they decided to step off to the side where it was a little less chaotic with people.  They were watching the people in the room, James once again telling her about different people he knew from the different functions he would attend.  He was really making it seem like the super-rich really were a small elite group that knew each other from all over the world.  He was just in the middle of cracking a joke to her when his demeanor completely changed and he turned around to face her and not the crowd of people. 

“You okay?” she asked. 

“Yeah, just saw someone I would rather not talk to.” 

Clara looked over his shoulder and saw a tall stout man looking in their direction. 

“Let’s go into the parlour and check out some of the items that are up for bid,” James suggested as he started to lead them out of the ballroom. 

They walked around and looked at the different items, all of which Clara had no chance of ever owning, such as artwork from some famous painters, and a guitar autographed by Paul McCartney.  She was trying her best to distract James, but he really seemed a bit tense.  He kept looking around and wasn’t really paying that much attention to what they were looking at.  

“Do you want to go?”  Clara asked. 

“Nonsense,” he replied.  “You look too gorgeous to not show you off some more.  I’m just going to pop into the loo for a moment, okay?” 

Clara nodded and James walked off leaving her alone.  She was sipping her wine when she spotted the man James was trying to avoid.  They made eye contact and he walked over towards her.  She wasn’t sure if she should avoid him as well, but she was curious as to what this man wanted with James. 

“Excuse me Miss, but I was looking for the man I saw you with,” the stout man said with a Scottish accent. 

“Well I don’t think he wants to see you,” she answered. 

“I imagine he wouldn’t.  Perhaps you can give him a message from me.” 

“Maybe,” she answered.  She was beginning to feel like she was in some kind of Bond movie with the strange man and an ominous message. 

“Tell him that the Doyle family is happy to see he’s back.”   

Clara stared at the man, wondering what that meant, but before she could question him, he turned and walked off towards the exit.  Who the hell was the Doyle family and what was their connection to James?  She looked over towards the washrooms and saw the man in question come out.  He still looked rattled and she debated about telling him about the stranger.  Maybe she should just tell him she saw him leave and try and get back to the nice night they were having. 

“Oh good, you’re still here,” he said as he approached her. 

“Where on earth would I go?” 

“Don’t know, I thought some handsome young wealthy man might snatch you away.” 

“Nonsense, I prefer handsome  _older_  wealthy men,” she grinned at him. 

“Oh well, I’m in luck then,” he smiled but started looking around the room again. 

“He’s gone,” she said and he turned back to her. 

“Who?” 

“The man you’re trying to avoid.  I saw him walk towards the exit.” 

James gave a visible sigh of relief.  “Really?” 

“Yeah, but do you want to tell me what that was all about?”  She had opted to not tell him about the cryptic message now that she saw how relieved he was. 

“Just someone from my past that I would rather not spend time talking to.  But let’s forget about him and go get another drink.” 

Clara wasn’t sure how, but she was determined to try and find out who this Doyle family was and just why James would be so rattled by them.  She knew James was clearly not going to give her an answer, but perhaps the Doctor would. 

The pair made their way back to the bar, where James ordered them more drinks before they went back to sit at their table.  James was clearly back to his old self and Clara was starting to put the whole strange encounter out of her mind.  They were watching the people on the dance floor, the two of them making fun of some of the not so good dancers.  The music changed to some slower songs and Clara wondered if James would ask her to dance.  She wanted him to and thought that maybe she should just ask him. 

“So, I didn’t get a chance to ask you earlier.  This is our first date?”  Clara asked, hoping to lead him down the road she wanted him to go. 

He smiled at her.  “Seems like a date, doesn’t it?” 

“What about mixing business and pleasure?  Pretty sure this isn’t business.” 

“It’s not, but it’s not really pleasure either.  I think we may have found a grey area.” 

She bit her bottom lip and then gave him a sly grin.  “So might this grey area include dancing?” 

He eyed her for a moment and then stood, offering her his hand.  “I think it should.” 

He led her towards the dance floor and once they found a spot James slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her into him, while the other one took her hand in his.  He started swaying with her to the beat and Clara thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest.   It was the first time she had been this close to him and the first time she had felt his arms around her.  His hand that was around her waist, rested at the small of her bare back where he was softly caressing small circles with his thumb.  He leaned down and she could feel his warm breath tickle her neck, sending a wave of passion through her. 

“Your scent has been driving me crazy all night,” she heard him inhale through his nose.  “It’s also been driving me crazy knowing that you don’t have much on under this dress.” 

“Might be less than you think,” she replied and he pulled back up to quirk an eyebrow at her. 

“You’re not...” 

She gave him a sultry smile and shrugged her shoulders.  “Maybe, maybe not.” 

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack woman?” 

“Just trying to see if I can actually get you to break your own rules.” 

His eyes locked with hers and she knew she almost had him.  She also knew she shouldn’t be going down this road, but damn if he wasn’t sex on a stick tonight and she didn’t want to fight this anymore.  She wanted him and maybe that was the missing key to actually getting him to give in, she needed to tell him just what it was she wanted. 

“Do you want me to break my rules, Clara?”  He asked while he continued to stare.  “Or is this just some game.” 

“No games,” she answered.  “I don’t like games.” 

He pulled her in closer, her body now pressed against his.  “Tell me what you want?”  He purred into her ear. 

Her body was humming and she knew she couldn’t deny herself any more.  “You.  I want you.” 


	15. Chapter 15

James gripped Clara tighter as he continued to slowly move her around the dance floor.  She had said it, the words he had been trying to coax out of her since their dinner a few weeks ago, but he wasn’t acting on it.  She had half expected him to drag her out of  t here and to a hotel room upstairs, but he wasn’t.  He just held her, his right hand in hers, and his left hand holding her pressed against him.  She could still feel his breath on her neck, and all she wanted was for him to press his lips against hers. 

“Clara,” he finally  whispered.  “I’ve never broken my rule for anyone .”

“So you were just toying with me,” she replied.

He p ulled back  and looked her in the eyes, “Never.  I love flirting with you and I know you do too.  This is going to happen, but we need to wait a couple of weeks, until the launch.”

Clara knew he was right, but she was frustrated.  This bastard had wound her up  yet again and she needed a release.  They had both said that they weren’t playing games, but it sure as hell felt like it  and she didn’t like to lose.

“So ,  I’m going to have to wait two weeks before I can wrap my lips around your hard cock ?”

She knew it was a low blow, but she had to bring out the big guns because she wanted James to give in.  She wanted him to drag her out of here and take her to his place.  To fuck her while she was pressed against the floor to ceiling windows staring out at the night sky of London.

“Two can play that game Clara,” he leaned down to whisper in her ear again. “In two weeks I'm going to tie you to my bed and ravish  your  gorgeous body to the point that you’re going to beg me to stop.”

God damn him.  If he didn’t have his way with her  tonight ,  she was definitely going to be spending the night with her vibrator.

“Wouldn’t you rather do that tonight ?  Or maybe I should go home and call my ex.  He certainly had a very talented mouth.”

“I'm going to make you forget all about that ex.”   She felt his hand on her back move down  over her ass and he gave it a slight squeeze, pulling her into him. “You’re making this very hard for me, Clara.”

“I can feel,” she swayed her hip s  to rub against him more.  James hissed and then gave a long exhale.  She felt his forehead hit her shoulder and she knew that she almost had him.  

“James,” she purred.  “I want you so bad I’m aching and I can feel you want me  too .  Please, just take me home.”

He  raised his head  and stared into her eyes, then slowly moved his gaze down to her lips then to her heaving chest.  “Your place or mine?”

“Yours.”

He dropped his hand from her back and with his other hand still in h er s, he dragged  her  off the dance floor and straight to the exit.  Once they were outside, he called his driver, who thankfully wasted no time in getting to them because Clara was worried that if James had time to think he might back down.  When the car pulled up, he opened the door for her and then got in on the other side after telling the driver to take them to his flat.  He stayed on  h is side of the car and didn’t look at Clara for the whole ride, probably because he was worried that if he touched her things might get uncomfortable for  his  driver. 

The car finally came to a stop and Clara  recognised  the  neighbourhood  as the one she was in when James chose his new place.  They both got out of the car and when James walked around to her side, he grabbed her hand once again and walked quickly to the entrance.

Once they were inside the lift ,  James stopped holding back and pressed Clara against the wall and immediately started kissing the  nape  of her neck.  Licking and sucking as he moved up to behind her ear.  She placed a hand in his hair and started massaging the  base  of his head, running her fingers through his short grey curls.  It felt so good to finally feel his soft lips on her skin and there was no stopping the little moan that escaped her.

“Fuck Clara.  You have no idea how badly I want you.  I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

The lift doors opened to reveal James’ flat  and  once again  he  took her hand.  They stepped out and Clara followed behind James as he led her towards the living room.  He hadn’t bothered to turn any lights on, so the room was cast in a blue from the night sky and the surrounding street lights.  One whole wall of windows revealed the lights from the city skyline and Clara had been right, it was a breathtaking sight.

“Can I get you a drink?”  James asked as he took his suit jacket off and loosened his tie.

“That would be nice,” Clara answered.  He clearly wanted to slow things down and she hoped that he wasn’t changing his mind.  “Wine, if you have it.”

“Coming right up.  Make yourself at home.”  He flipped on a lamp that was in the corner of the room and then walked over to the kitchen.  Clara could see that he had added a few personal touches, but for the most part it looked the same as when she first saw the place with him.

“Happy to finally have your own place ? ” she asked, as she looked around.

“Oh yes.  It’s nice to not be in a hotel anymore , ” he said as he walked back in and handed her a glass.  He sat down next to her and took his phone out of his pocket, tapped at the screen a few times before some slow soft music came out of a speaker.

They both took a sip from their wine  glasses  and Clara wondered what was going through James’ mind.  Was he having second thoughts?  She wasn’t, but she was feeling like she was having déjà vu.  She tried to shake the thought that this whole situation seemed similar to the night she and the Doctor had slept together after the concert.  She didn’t want to think about him now, but it was hard with his twin sitting next to her giving her the same sultry look that the Doctor had.

“I think I should make something clear before this goes any further, Clara,” James said as he  placed  his glass on the coffee table.  “I like you, but I meant it when I said that I am not one for relationships.   I'm not looking for a girlfriend .”

Those words should have bothered her, but they didn’t.

“And I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“What are you looking for?”

“Fun.  Friends with benefits,” she shrugged and put her glass down as well.  “I don’t really know, but I know that I don’t want a relationship.”

“Good.”  He said. “Now, I want to show you something.”  

He stood and offered her his hand, which she took and followed him as he pulled her towards what she remembered was the master bedroom.  He took her to the balcony door and opened it for her to walk out.

“Wow, this is stunning,” she said as she looked out over the park and saw the city in the distance.  It was a clear night so the lights were shimmering as far as she could see.

“It is,” he said as he stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her hip s  while he started kissing her neck again.

She leaned back into him and sighed as she grabbed the top of the balcony railing.  One  of  his hands slid down her leg to where her dress opened and he started caressing her bare thigh, slowly dragging his hand up towards her hip , where he discovered  just how little she had on underneath her dress.

“My god woman.  You really aren’t wearing anything under here.”  He squeezed her hip and moved his hand around to caress the curve of her firm bottom.  

“Can’t have lines in a dress like this.”

“Thank god for that.”   He turned her in his arms and  cradled her face in his hands . 

She bit her bottom lip and then  flicked  her tongue out, tempting him to do what  she  had been longing for.   But instead of kissing her he ran  a thumb  over her red lips  and she opened her mouth to suck the tip in, giving him a preview of things to come.   James sighed as he pulled his thumb away and  leaned forward to nibble on her naked ear lobe.

“ You’re killing me,” Clara  sighed.

“Patience  dear.”  James moved his kisses to her neck and down to her shoulder.   “ This night is all about you .”

He hooked  a  finger into one of her thin straps and slid it down her shoulder , letting it hang loosely down her arm .  

“Time to take this inside, ” James said as he ran his hand down Clara’s smooth arm and  took her  hand , leading  her back  inside.

He walked her over towards his bed  and stopped just before they reached the edge.  He brought his hand up to her other strap and slowly  pulled it down off her shoulder.  Now with both straps lowered  the top of her breasts were exposed and James could see the heart shaped tattoo much better.  He brought a finger up and traced the outline of  it before he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on it.   Clara could feel herself getting more aroused  as  he continued placing kisses on her chest.   It felt  so good  and she was aching for so much more.

“I think I need to find out if you have any more tattoos.”  

James  brought his hands around to the back of her dress and pulled the zipper down that was at her waist.   He moved his lips up to her neck again as he slipped his hands into her open dress  and over her firm buttocks.

“Fuck you have a tight ass,” he said as he gave both cheeks a hard squeeze.

Clara moaned and felt herself throb between her legs and she knew once James touched her  there ,  she wouldn’t last long.  It had been far too long since she felt the stroke of someone else and James’ slow seduction was driving her crazy.  She needed him and she needed him soon.

He stopped what he was doing and  took a small step back from her, but brought his hands to the straps  hanging off her shoulders.   Clara    shivered at the  anticipation of what he was about to do, knowing that once he pulled  the thin pieces of fabric down ,  she would be completely naked  in front of him.   Slowly, he dragged his hands down and inch  by  inch her dress started to drop.   The material covering her breasts moved lower and lower until finally  her chest was r evealed  and James  sighed at the sight , but didn't stop his actions.  He kept lowering his hands until  he reached the  end of her arms and removed the straps , dropping  them and her dress to the ground.  He took another step back to admire his unwrapping job and Clara knew she should have felt exposed, standing there in  only her black strappy heels, but she didn’t.  She felt even more turned on.

“My god you’re gorgeous ,” James sighed .

He brought  his  hand s  up  and cupped both of her breasts , squeezing them and rubbing his thumbs over her nipples  making then harder  than  they were before. Clara  let out a soft low  breath , as James ’  strong hands massaged  and kneaded her  chest .  He flashed her a devilish grin before his mouth descended on to a  tight  peak  and he  began sucking, licking and nipping at each pert  globe.   Clara grabbed his arm to steady herself while  her other hand went to the back of his head  holding him in place as he feasted on  her breasts.   His hands began to roam down her sides and around to  her ass and she didn’t know how  much  more of this she could take.

“James, please,” she purred.

“Please what ?” He asked as he  looked up at her.

“More.  I need more.”

“Patience my dear, patience.   I believe I was tasked with finding  out if you have more  tattoos. ”

He brought a long finger up and  gently touched her heart tattoo  then trailed his finger down between her  cleavage , under her breast and further down to stop just  above her hip bone.

“ That’s two,” he said as he  caressed the tiny plane outline on her  hip  before he  continued the path back up to her side  next to her breast  and traced the  word wanderlust .  “And that's three.”

He leaned forward again and placed a kiss on her  third tattoo,  while  his other hand continued an  assault  on  the opposite breast, pinching her nipple just hard enough to  make Clara flinch, but  moan at the sensation at the same time. James’  mouth had moved back up and she felt his hot breath on her ear.

“Do you like that?”  He asked as  he  now had both hands on her, twisting and tweaking her nipples.

“Yes,” she sighed.

“Let’s see how much. ”   He moved a hand down her flat stomach , inching closer to the spot Clara needed touched  the  most.   She parted her legs slightly to give him better access and he  eagerly slipped  his middle finger through her folds.  “ Oh I think you really did.”

Clara really didn’t know how much more she could take.   He was making her  whole body  hum ,  her legs growing shaky ,  with  each pull of his finger.

“James,” she moaned his name and he stopped and took a step back.

“Lay down , ”  he ordered  her and Clara sat on the  edge of the bed to take her heels off.  “No.  Leave those on.”

She stared into his eyes as he watched her  move back  and lean against a mountain of  pillows  at the head board.  He  pulled  his tie off,  unbuttoned a couple  of the top buttons, and then removed  his cuff links  to  roll his sleeves up.   Clara couldn’t believe that he was still fully dressed and she was laying on his bed completely  naked .

“One of us has too many clothes on,” she said  as he moved towards the foot of the bed .

“I told you this is about you.   My pleasure will come  late r .”   He kneeled on the bed and put his  hands on Clara’s ankles,  running his hands up her smooth legs, setting a trail of fire as he  slid up.   “I couldn’t have you going home and calling your ex again .”   He leaned down and pressed his lips on her  abdomen .   “He may have said no last time .”  Another kiss, a little lower.  “But there was no way he would have said no tonight.” A  little lower.  “And I want you to never think of him again.”

Clara closed her eyes and got a vision of the Doctor being in the same position James was in now and she needed him out of her head.   She looked down just as James gave her  that grin that was distinctly his and the  image of the longer haired brother vanished.   She couldn’t think about him right now.  Right now she had an itch that needed scratching and this was the man who was going to do it.

James pushed her thighs apart, opening her to him and Clara had never had a man examine her the way he was.  He looked like he had just been presented with his favourite meal and he was either going to devour it or  savour  it.  She really hoped it was both.  He brought a finger up to run through her folds again, circling her entrance before he dipped a finger inside.  Clara quivered at the feeling of him stroking her, those long fingers that she knew well and had missed so much.  She began to wiggle, trying to get him to hit her bundle of nerves, but James placed a strong arm across her hips, holding her in place.

“What do you need Clara?  Tell me.  I want to hear you say it.”  He continued stroking her.

“You, I need you,” she moaned.

“No.  I want to hear you tell me what you need me to do.  Command me, Clara.”  He inserted a second finger and began pumping faster.

“Your mouth... I need your mouth on me.”  He kissed her just above her clit.

“Like that?”

“James, please,” she begged.

He gave her another sinful grin and then finally latched his mouth on to her clit.  As soon as he began sucking and licking her, she sighed in relief of feeling what she had been longing for all night.  It wasn’t long before she could feel the wave of pleasure growing inside of her and she knew that the wave was going to crash hard very soon.  Her breathing shortened the more he devoured her, and she could tell that he was just in  as much  need of this as she was.

“Oh yes, just like that!”

He began pumping her with his fingers again and then curled them to start rubbing that spot deep insider her.  She hadn’t felt this kind of pleasure in a long time and she couldn’t stop the moans that were escaping her.  The faster he thrust and the harder he sucked, the louder she got until she finally screamed her release.  James slowed his motions but didn’t stop.  He was easing her back down, only to build her up again and it wasn’t long before she felt the pleasure build again.

“Fuck James!  Your tongue feels so good!

He continued pleasuring her with his mouth until she just couldn’t take any more.  She let go once again and then threw her head back on the bed, feeling completely spent. She felt him get off the bed and she opened her eyes to see him admiring the sight of her on his bed.  She could also see his erection straining against his trousers and she wanted so badly to take him in her mouth. 

“Need a hand with that,” she asked as she sat up and reached for him.

“Not yet,” he answered as he sat on the edge of the bed and lightly caressed Clara’s thigh.  “I can’t do that with you yet.”

“Seriously?”  Clara asked surprised.  “You aren’t going to let me return the  favour ?”

He continued to caress her leg and then moved his hand up to stroke her abdomen.  “Oh, I’ll let you return the  favour , but not until after the launch.”

He slid his hand  higher  and circled her nipples with his finger.  “God your tits are amazing.”  He leaned down and captured a peak between his lips and twirled his tongue around then sat up again.

“You made me do something tonight that I would have never done and I wouldn’t have given into you, but I just couldn’t have you going home to your ex.”   He stood up and went to the foot of the bed to take her heels off.  “I wanted you to know that I can take care of your needs.”

“That you did, but I’m going to need more.”

“More will come.  That was just a delicious taste of what’s to come.  And boy was it delicious.”

He threw her shoes on the floor and then began to unbutton his shirt, tugging it out of his trousers and then shrugging it off his shoulders.  Clara smiled at seeing his bare chest that had very little hair and a little more definition then the Doctor did.  It was clear that he worked out a little more than his brother .   Next, he took off his  trousers  and threw them on a chair in the corner of the room leaving him standing there in his boxer briefs.  Clara stood up and pulled back the covers of the bed then climbed in as James turned the light off  before climbing  in next to her and  wrapping  an arm around her waist pulling her into him.  He kissed her shoulder and Clara could feel this hardness pressed against her.

“You sure I can’t do something about that?”  She asked.

“I’m sure, but thank you.”  He kissed her again.  “I’ve never met anyone like you Clara Oswald and I look forward to the day I take you up on that offer.

\--------------

The next morning Clara woke up and blinked a few times as the bright sun was streaming in the window.  She rolled over and saw James was still fast asleep.  She eased out of bed and grabbed his white oxford that was on the floor, and pulled  it  on as she walked towards the  loo.   When she came out, James was awake and sitting up in bed.

“That shirt looks way better on you than it does on me.”

“I don’t know about that.  You looked pretty good in it last night.”

James threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, but before he could get up, Clara had stepped between his legs and started placing kisses on his neck.  He wrapped his arms around her and dragged his hands down to grab her ass under his shirt.

“Am I to assume that you aren’t going to let me kiss you?”  She asked as she started sucking on his ear lobe.

“You are correct.  If I kiss you, I’m not going to be able to stop.  Which,” he said as he glanced at the clock.  “I need to do because I need to get to the factory.”

“Shame, I was hoping for a repeat of last night.”

“Well I could come by after the factory and help you out.”

Clara smiled.  “Probably not a good idea.  I have a lot of work I need to do.” 

She pulled herself away from his embrace and pulled his shirt off to put her dress back on.

“You sure, because I really  really  want to,” he answered as he watched her  pick up her dress .

“We’ll see.”  She winked at him.

The two finished getting  ready  and Clara felt very overdressed compared to James in jeans and a sweater.  James offered to drop her off on his way, which she happily took because she definitely looked like she was coming home from being out all night.  They stopped outside her flat and James got out to walk her to her door.

“Thank you for last night,” she said.

“My pleasure.”

“Pretty sure it was mine,” she smiled.

“That’s true.”  He leaned in and wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.  Clara closed her eyes remembering the bliss she felt last night and started thinking she might take him up on his offer of coming over later.  She was just about to tell him that when she heard her name, but not from James.

“Clara?”  The Doctor said from behind them, sounding confused.  

She looked up and locked eyes with him and wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt so guilty.  She also knew there was no way of stopping what was about to happen.  James turned and stared into the familiar face of his own and dropped his arms from Clara as he turned to fully face his brother.


	16. Chapter 16

The Doctor had gone out early to grab a coffee and print some of the pictures he had taken with Clara the previous week.  He had taken some really great  shots  of her and thought  it  would  be  nice to give them to her.  It was also an excuse to drop by and see her since they hadn’t scheduled another outing  and he was kind of missing her.   He had just turned up their street when he saw a car parked out front of her place and as he got closer, he saw that there were two people standing outside.  He watched as the man wrapped his arms around the woman and as he got closer his heart fell to his stomach once he saw that the woman was Clara.  He knew he had no claim on her, but it was obvious from Clara’s dress that she was returning home from a night out, which could only mean one thing.

“Clara?”  Her name escaped his lips before he could stop it.  He locked eyes with her and saw a panicked look just before the man she was nuzzling, turned to look at him.

Ra ge boiled inside him as he  stared at the  face  he hadn’t seen in thirty-five years and  he  had to fight the immediate reaction to punch him .   He looked just like him, aside from the differences Clara had mentioned and he wanted nothing more than to grab him and drag him away from his Clara.  He used every ounce of self-control he had to not beat him to a bloody pulp.

“Allan.”  James said and the Doctor was a bit taken aback at  hearing  that name.

Clara stepped away from James and wasn’t sure if she should put herself between the two men or not.  She knew the Doctor well enough to see  he was seething .

“John, I uh.  What are you doing here?”  She asked, not really sure what to say.

The Doctor continued to stare at James but spoke to her.  “I printed some pictures from our trip to the zoo last week.”  He now turned and looked at her.  “I thought I would drop them off on my way home.”

James now looked at Clara and then back at the Doctor and she knew that he was smart enough to put two and two together.

“He’s your ex.  Isn’t he?”

Clara just nodded and wasn’t sure how James was going to react to this news. 

“Wow, what happened to you?”  James asked as he looked at the Doctor.  “You had this beautiful woman and you lost her.”

“It’s none of your business what happened between her and I.”  The Doctor said between gritted teeth.

“Well your loss is apparently my gain, so thanks ,” James replied smugly.

That was it, he couldn’t hold back any longer and before he knew it ,  he  had drawn his fist and hit James with such a force that he fell to the ground , mostly because he didn’t see it coming.   James looked up at him holding the side of his mouth that was  now oozing blood  from the corner.  Clara dropped to her knees to help him.

“John!”  She looked up at him.  “What is your problem!?”

“Him!”  He shouted as he looked down at them.  “Out of all the men Clara, why did you have to sleep with him?!”

“It’s none of your business what has  happened between James and I!”  She shouted back.  “And it sure as hell isn’t your business who I sleep with!”

She looked at James and saw that his lip was starting to swell and bruise.  “We should get some ice on that.” 

“Well you still have one hell of a punch  mate ,” James said as Clara helped him up.  

“Why the hell are you back here?!”  The Doctor yelled at him.

“Well clearly not to have a loving reunion with you,” James replied calmly  as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

The Doctor looked at him and shook his head, the anger radiating off of him.  “Do you know how hard I’ve worked to put my past behind me.  Just to have you show up after all this time and put it in jeopardy!”

“How hard you worked!?   What about all the things I lost?”  James yelled.

“ What ever you lost is because of your  own god damn selfish ways.  You ran away from your fucking  problems  and left me to deal wit h  them!”

Clara  couldn’t take her eyes off the scene that was unfolding in front of her.  It was so surreal, seeing the two of them together.

“And if you had just come with me, you wouldn’t have had to do that!”  James shouted.

“I couldn’t do that to m a and pa .  I’d rather the fate I had than leave them!”  The Doctor shouted back.

“Well you’re a bigger idiot than I thought, and you still are.”

Clara saw the Doctor ball his fist again and  knew  that  she  needed to put an end to this before things escalated  into more punches being thrown .

“Enough!”  Clara shouted.  

“Clara…” the Doctor started to say but was cut off.

“I don’t want to hear it.  I will not have you two fighting in front of my flat.”  She turned to the Doctor.  “You need to go home and cool off.  And you,” she turned to James.  “Need to get some ice on that.”

The Doctor didn’t want to leave her alone with James because he knew that he would likely feed her some kind of lie as to what was going on and he knew her well enough to know she would have questions about the things that were said.  However, she was right, they couldn’t get into a fist fight on the street.  He gave a heavy sigh and one last sneer to James.

“Fine. ”  He turned and looked at Clara.   “I'm sorry.”  

She just stared at him and watched as he  walked in the direction of his flat.   There was so much to process and she just couldn’t wrap her head around it.  These two were far  angrier  than she ever thought and clearly what happened was bigger than she could have ever imagined.

“I should go,” James said bringing her out of her thoughts .

She  turned  and saw that his lip was still bleeding .

“We should get you cleaned up,” she offered.

“It’s fine.  Not the first time I've been punched.”

“James, you’re still bleeding.  Please just come up and let me  put some ice on that.”

“Okay,” he finally agreed.

The two walked up to Clara’s flat in silence.   She  wasn’t sure what was going through James' mind  and she definitely had a  harder  time reading him than she did the Doctor.   She opened the door to her flat and told James to have a seat in the kitchen while she grabbed the first aid kit.   When she returned ,  he was sitting at the table with his  head in his hands.  Clara pulled a chair around in front of him and  he looked up at her.

“So you and him?”   James questioned as she dabbed at the blood.

“Yeah.”

“He’s really the ex that I’ve been trying to make you forget about?”

“Yes.”

“Guess I'm not doing a good job since you look at me and see him.”   Clara could almost hear sadness in his voice.

“No,” she said as she tilted his head to look him in the eyes.  “ You are two very different men.   You may share  a  face, but  that’s  where the similarities end.   When I was with you last night, I was with you, not him.”

James stared at her for a moment.  “What happened between the two of you?”

Clara stood up and walked over to her freezer to grab a  bag  of frozen peas.  She wrapped it in a towel and sat back down  again , holding the pack to  James’  mouth.

“He had a  fiancée , who turned out to be one of my good friends.”

“He was cheating on her with you?”

“Yes.”

“Always knew he was an arse.  Guess he hasn’t changed.”

“I wouldn’t know.  Neither of you will tell me about your past,” she said.

“So he hasn’t told you anything about me?”

“No, other than how much he hates you, which is pretty obvious now.”  She took the ice pack from his mouth to see if it was working and then put it back in place.   “Just what happened  to cause this much anger, James?”

“It’s a long story and one I would rather not get into,” he replied as he looked away from her.

She knew she wasn’t likely going to get any answers from him, but she needed answers.  If she was going to get involved with James, she needed to know the truth about his past.

“I’m not going to judge you based on your past, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she offered.

“It’s not.”  He stood up.  “I should get going.”

Clara stood and followed him.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about John.”

James turned and looked at her and brought a hand up to cup her cheek.  “It’s okay.  I understand.  You really don't owe me anything Clara.”

“I just don’t want what happened today to ruin what you and I did.  I really like you and I am really looking forward to seeing more of you.”

He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.  “Me too.  Have dinner with me on Tuesday night?”

Clara smiled at him.  “I’ll call you and let you know.  I’m going to be at the studio most of the day shooting your commercials and I’m not sure what time I’ll finish.”

“Okay,” he answered, then touched the side of his mouth.  “Thanks for being my nurse.”

Clara leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his bruised lip.  “There ,  all better.”

James smiled at her and opened the door.  “Tuesday ,  Oswald, think about it.”

He left and Clara couldn’t believe the utter mess her life was.  What did their argument mean?  She just had so many questions and she didn’t know how she was going to get either of these stubborn men to open up.  She wanted to call Amy and tell her everything that had happened, but she knew she would likely tear her a new one for getting involved with James.  It was times like this that she really wished her mum was here, not that she would have told her the whole story, but it would just be nice to have someone to hug her and tell her it was all going to be okay.  Maybe the best thing was to put some distance between her and the Doctor, after all if she hadn’t brought him back into her life, this whole mess wouldn’t be happening right now.  She liked James and he was offering her what she wanted right now.  A relationship would just make things messy and messy was the last thing she wanted.  She walked off towards her bathroom, deciding that before she did anything, she needed a nice long hot bath and hopefully that might clear her head a bit.

An hour later she emerged clean, dressed and ready to try and focus on work , but just as she was about to turn on her laptop ,  she saw  the little light on her phone was flashing .  She picked it up to see that the Doctor had texted her.

**_ I'm sorry about earlier.  I didn't mean to cause a scene in front of your place. _ ** **_   I  _ ** **_ really  _ ** **_ would like to talk to you.  Please call me. _ **

Clara wasn’t sure if she should, but she hoped that maybe she might get some answers.

**_ Can I come over? _ **

She waited to see if he responded.

**_ Yes _ ** **_.   _ ** **_ I'm in 12. _ **

Clara grabbed her keys and walked out the door .  It didn’t take her long to be standing outside his door knocking.

“Hi,” the Doctor said as he opened  the door.

“Hi,” she answered and took a step in.

She glanced around and immediately  felt like this was a place the Doctor would live.  One wall in the living  room was nothing but IKEA shelves full of albums and a listening station set up in the corner.  Also in the corner was an amp and an electric guitar, which she forgot he  had  mentioned he played.

“Have a seat,” he offered and Clara walked in and sat on the couch.   He joined her by sitting  on the  opposite end.

“How’s your hand?”   She asked as she saw a bowl of ice sitting on the table.

“Sore .  I forgot how hard  James’ jaw is.”  He rubbed his left hand over his knuckles.  “Look, I don’t know what James has told you…”

“Nothing,” Clara cut him off.   “Neither of you will tell me anything.”

The Doctor looked at her, relieved that James hadn’t spun her any lies.

“This is really hard for me, Clara.   I want to be open with you but I’ve held on to it for so long .”

“John, I promise, whatever it is I'm not going to think differently of you.”

“You already think the worst of me.   I  tell you this and you will never change your mind.”

“I  don’t think the worst of you.  Not  anymore.   Maybe a year ago I did , but not now .  What you did was wrong, yes, but I forgive you for it.”

“Really?”  He couldn’t believe that she had just said that.

“I do.   But that doesn't mean we can go back to what we had. You hurt me more than any man has ever hurt me, but I do care for you and very much want to be friends.” She smiled at him and reached out to hold his hand.   “Whatever it is John you can tell me.”

T he Doctor looked at her and gave a heavy sigh.   He knew he needed to say it, but he was so ashamed.   He pulled his hand away from hers  and stared down at his lap, not wanting to look her in the face.

“I spent 7 years in prison,” he whispered.


	17. Chapter 17

Clara wasn’t quite sure she heard him correctly.  Did he seriously  just  say he was in prison?  She  watched  as he stared at his hands , gripping  his thighs  so tightly  Clara  could see his  nail beds turning white .  She  knew she needed to say something, but  she didn’t know exactly  what ?  There were tons  of questions  flying  through her mind.

The Doctor couldn’t believe he had finally said the words out loud.  No one from his present knew the truth about his past and he just shared the scariest information with Clara.  He was  expecting  her to get up and walk out and quite honestly, he wouldn’t blame her.  He felt the couch move, but still couldn’t bring himself to look at her.  He was sure she was making a run for the door, but instead he felt the couch dip next to him and then a hand on his shoulder.

“John, it’s okay.  You don’t need to be ashamed with me.”  She couldn’t imagine what he had done or what that must have been like for him, but clearly it was something he didn’t want to talk about.  “What happened?”

He gave another heavy sigh, and continued to stare at his hands.   

“It’s such a long story, Clara ,  and one I don’t know if I’m ready to tell.”  He finally turned and looked at her and she had never seen him look like this.

“Okay.”  She took her hand off his shoulder and turned to get up, but the Doctor grabbed her hand to stop her.

“Please don’t go.”  He looked at her with pleading eyes.

She moved back and turned into him.   “I’m not going anywhere, but John you need to open up.   Would it help if I asked questions? ”

“M aybe. ”

“How old were you?”  She asked, thinking that an easy question would be best.

“Twenty-one.”

Clara remembered that James had said he had left at the same age and putting together what was said during the two men’s argument, she assumed he was involved with whatever happened.

“And was James apart of it?”

“Neither of us were really a part of it, but we weren’t entirely innocent either.”  He stood up,  walked over to his kitchen , and  grabbed a bottle of scotch and poured it into two glasses.  He came back in and handed  one to  Clara, which she accepted.  He downed his glass and then went back to pour another for himself, but this time brought the bottle back with him.

“James and I weren’t the best kids growing up,” he said as he sat down.  “We got into a lot of trouble.   Most of it was innocent, lads being lads, but once we hit our teens James  started hanging around a group of guys that were a  lot more trouble.”

“And you didn’t?”  Clara asked quietly.

“Not at first ,” the Doctor shook his head.  “ I had started getting interested in music and  would much rather spend my time learning a new instrument or hanging  about in record shops.”

He took a sip of his drink and got a far - off distant look  on  his face before he continued.

“But  James was my best friend  and we shared everything together , we  were inseparable , so I started hanging out with these guys too .”

“ What kind of stuff did  they  do?”

“Stealing mostly.  Liquor, cigarettes, just easy stuff to grab at the shop.  Which obviously was wrong, but not as big as what they got messed up in later.”  

“Which was?”  She encouraged him to continue.

“Drugs.”  He looked at her and was slightly taken aback to see nothing but concern and kindness reflecting at him.  

“Well we’ve all dabbled with that.”

“This was more than just dabbling.  We got mixed up with a local gang that was selling them out of ice cream vans in Glasgow’s West End.”

Ice cream.  Clara had never told the Doctor what James’ business was, but now she started to wonder if he got into it because of this.

“We made a lot of money doing it, which made the whole thing very attractive and hard to stop, especially because our family never had a lot of money.  We were a couple of  nineteen -year-old lads who suddenly felt like they had all of  Glasgow  available to them.  And for a while, I admit, it was fun, no one was getting hurt, at least that’s how I kept justifying it to myself.  But the longer we did it the higher we moved in the ranks.  We went from driving the vans to managing the guys driving them and collecting the money.”

Clara couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  It sounded like something straight out of a movie, not people she knew.  

“But then one day, a couple of guys were talking about sending a warning to one of the rival gangs that was encroaching on our territory.  They wanted to set fire to one of the factories and they wanted James and I to help.”

“Did you?”

“I said no, but James was so desperate to move up within the  organisation , that he agreed.   I tried to  talk him out of it, but he just wouldn’t listen to me.”   He took another drink, emptying the glass. The Doctor filled up his glass again and noticed that Clara’s was empty now too.  He waved the bottle, and she shook her head no.  He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol that was making this easier or if once he started talking about  it ,  he couldn’t stop.

“So when the night came that James and the other guys were going to do it, I made sure James didn’t show up.”

“What did you do?”  Clara asked.

“We had our first fist fight and I ended up knocking him out.  By the time he came to,  the job was already done.   We heard a couple of hours later that the fire had been set, but unfortunately the factory wasn’t empty.”

“Oh no,” Clara exclaimed.

“There were five members of the  McLean  family trapped inside.”  He stared at the amber liquid in his glass.  “They didn’t make it out.”

“But you and James didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“That’s not what a witness had said.  One of the members from the  McLeans  had  IDed  James, well more like  described  him, as one of the men  who  set the fire.  Problem was, I also fit the same description.  So when we got word that the police were looking for one of us, James wanted to run to America, but I told him no, we were innocent and running would only make it seem like we were guilty.  But he just didn’t believe me and the next day I woke up and he was gone.  No note, nothing, just gone.  The next thing I  knew , I was arrested for a crime I didn’t do and my only alibi was nowhere to be found.”

“Oh my god.”  Clara couldn’t believe that James would do that.  “Did James know this happened?”

“I don’t know.  The night we argued was the last time I saw him until today.”

“But you obviously got out.”

“Aye, after seven very long years and many appeals later, I was finally found innocent.”

“John, I can’t even imagine what you went through.”

“No you can’t.  It was utter hell Clara.  I thought my life was over and I can’t tell you the number of times I thought about ending it.  If it weren’t for my parents who continued to fight and put what very little savings they had into it, I don’t know what I would have done.”  

“Your parents must have been so happy that you were finally free.”

“They were, and I was actually able to pay them back for everything from the compensation I received from the judiciary system for my wrongful imprisonment.”

Clara didn’t know what to say.  She knew it took a lot for him to share this with her.  

“Thank you for telling me.  I know you didn’t want to, but it means a lot that you felt like you could share that with me.”

“That wasn’t easy, but I do feel slightly better having it out in the open.”  He set his empty glass on the table and then turned towards her, so they were now facing each other.  “I fought hard to clear my name and to change my life around and I guess I just wanted to forget about that horrible time in my life.”

They locked eyes and for the first time Clara understood the sadness that always seemed to be just behind the surface.  He had had a much harder life than she could have ever imagined.  She felt bad for him, but she also wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about James.  He definitely wasn’t painted in a fair light and she knew she needed to hear his side of things, but she just didn’t know how he was going to explain any of his actions.  She also couldn't’ help but wonder if he had put the life of crime behind him or if he had continued.  She also felt like she needed to be straight with John  about  what was happening between her and James.  She knew she didn’t owe him anything, but he was being so honest with her, she needed to be the same with him.

“Look John, about what you saw this morning,” she started to say but then the Doctor interrupted her.

 “Clara, I don’t want to know.  You can date whoever you want and I have to deal with that.  I just really wish it wasn’t him.  He’s just not good for you.”

“I  think I need to be the judge of that.  I  need to talk to him, John.  It’s only fair.”

“Fair isn’t in his vocabulary.  He wasn’t fair to me, so why should you be to him?”

“Because had I heard his version of the story first, wouldn’t you want an opportunity to tell your side of it?”

God, he hated when she was right.  Of course he would have.  “Yes,” he said quietly.

Clara looked at her watch and saw that it  was  almost three and she really needed to get some work done, but she also didn’t want to leave him.

“I need to go, but are you going to be okay?”  She asked.

“Yes, thank you.”  

Clara stood and the Doctor got up to walk her to the door.

“I’ll call you in a few days and maybe we can have dinner or something.”  She offered, wanting to make sure that he knew she was okay with everything she had heard today.

“That would be great.”

Clara took a step forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, completely catching  him  off guard.

“I’m just up the street if you need to talk,” she said just before she left.

The Doctor had brought his hand up his cheek and watched her walk down the hall.  He felt like a ton of bricks had just been lifted from him and it felt good to know that Clara knew the truth and didn’t go running from him.  He should have known that she wouldn’t, but he just wasn’t sure.  He smiled and closed his door, wondering if there was hope yet that he could win her back.  Knowing that his competition was James made him feel a little more confident that if he fought a little harder, he might win out.  After all, they had a history and not that long ago she was falling for him, so if he showed her that man again, maybe just maybe he could get her back.


	18. Chapter 18

Clara had wanted to call James after she left the Doctor’s on Sunday, but she decided to try and put everything out of her mind and focus on the work that needed to get done  for  his launch.  She was currently on her way to the studio when she got a text from the man in question.

**_ Dinner? _ **

She still wasn’t sure what time she would be done today, but she did want to see him.

**_ Okay.  Where? _ **

She didn’t have to wait long for his response.

**_ My place. _ **

Clara wasn’t sure about that.  She needed to  know his side of the story  before they were intimate again and she knew that he would likely try and tempt her into something if they were alone.  However, she also knew  he wouldn't open up to her  if they were in a restaurant.

**_ Sounds good.  I'll let you know a time later. _ **

She hoped they would be able to get through the day quickly because she was anxious to see him and hopefully get more  answers . However, that wasn’t how the day went and it was beginning to look like  she wasn’t going to see James at all .   One of the kids they  hired for the commercial kept forgetting his lines and they were now trying to rework the script.   She texted James and told him she would need a rain  cheque  but she hadn’t heard from him .   An hour later, just as things were starting to look much better, James walked into the studio  and her heart  fluttered  at seeing him unexpectedly.

“Hey,” he said as he approached Clara.  

“Hi,” she  replied.  “You didn’t get my text?”

“No, I got it.  Just thought you wouldn’t  be  able to say no to me in person.”

“You’re so sure of that?”

“Yeah, I was hoping I  could  tempt you with a home cooked  meal  and  some dessert later.”  He wagged his eyebrows at her, telling her she knew exactly what he had in mind.

“ Maybe”  she  smiled. “Hey,  since you’ re here do you want to see what we’ve done?”

“Lead the way Ms. Oswald.”

Clara  lead him into another room, so he could watch some of the footage.  He was very happy with what had been done  and didn’t think they had much more to do.  The director agreed and told Clara that she wasn’t  really needed and that he would send her  a rough cut of the commercial in a couple of days.

“So you coming with me?”  He asked as he opened the car door for her.

She looked at her watch and saw that it was seven, and not as late as she thought it would be.  

“For dinner, okay.”  She got in and he followed .

“But no dessert?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” he answered and was clearly surprised that she would say no.  “ Is this about Sunday morning?”

“Partly, ” she answered.  “I need some answers from you before this continues.”

“You talked to Allan, didn’t you?”

“John, ” she corrected him.  “And yes, I did .”

James looked at her and she wasn’t sure what he was thinking.  “Well why wait, ask what you want to know now.”

Clara glanced at the driver.  “I think it’s best  if  we wait until we’re back at your place.”

“Fine,” he answered and turned to look out the window.  

Great, their relationship was supposed to be simple, no strings attached, but it sure as hell felt like this was about to end before it even really got started.  They rode the rest of the way in silence, neither of them saying anything until they stepped off the  lift  and into his flat.  Once they were inside, James took his suit jacket off and threw it on a chair before walking into the kitchen.  He rolled up his sleeves and started pulling food out of the fridge, clearly angry.

“James, can we talk about this before you start cooking?”

He threw a package of mushrooms on the counter.  “Fine.  Do you want me to tell my side of it so you can compare our stories?   See who’s telling the truth? ”  

She had never heard this tone from him and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

“I’m not judging anyone about their past, James.  But I just don’t understand how you could let your brother  go to prison . ”

“What are you talking about?”  He asked confused.

“I’m talking about the fact that John spent seven years in prison ,  fighting to prove he was innocent, while you took the cowardly road and ran.  You were his only alibi James!” 

“He didn’t go to prison, Clara.  I kn e w he got arrested, but the whole thing got cleared up.  At most he spent a  night  in jail, but not actual prison.”  His tone was adamant.

“No, James.  He went to prison.  For seven years!”

“What?”  Clara could hear the disbelief in his voice.  “You’re serious?”  

“Yes.  James , h e wasn’t lying to me  and was completely open about your past.”

“The stealing, the drugs?”  He asked.

“Everything.”

James stood there looking completely shocked  and it was obvious this was all news to him, but  now Clara had more questions and she hoped he would be honest with her.

“Why did you think he was free?”

“I had a mate on the police force.  Once I got to New York, I called him to see what was going on and he told me that they had arrested Allan, but that they were able to clear him.  I didn’t tell him where I was and I made him promise to not tell anyone they had heard from me.   Why the hell did he lie to me? ”   James wondered, trying to process what Clara had told him.

“So if you thought everything was fine, why didn’t you come back?”

“Because I knew Allan would be better off without me.”  He walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of scotch.  “You want a glass?”

“Yeah, why not .  Seems  you and your brother both think this story needs to be told with a glass of scotch.”

He poured two glasses and walked into the living room where they both sat on the couch.

“ I always wanted more for him , which was why I wanted him to come with me.”  He took a sip of his drink.  “I just thought that if we got to America, he could finally have the life he deserved  and  he  could start fresh away from the path  h e  was  heading down  because of me. ”

“But John said you were enjoying that life and you wanted to actually set that fire.”

“That’s what he believed because I  made him think that.  The reality was, I  had no choice.   I was more involved in that gang than Allan knew and what may have appeared as me being ambitious, was me being greedy and getting caught stealing money from  them.  As a way of punishment , they made me do things that I am not proud of. ” He took another  drink. “I ran, Clara because I saw it as my  way  out, but had I known what happened, I would have come back.”

“ So you can fix this.  Go to John and explain what happened.”   Clara said.

“It’s not that easy.  Thirty-five years of anger and resentment  don’t  go away that quickly.”  James looked at her.  "I was hurt in all of this too, Clara.  I’m not the bad guy here.”  

“I never thought you were. ”

“But you came in here wondering how I could do such a thing to him.   You were concerned for him. ”

“He went through a horrible ordeal.”  Clara answered .

“Look, I don’t know where this  is going between us now, but it isn't going to work  if you’re using me as a substitute for him.”

“I'm not ,” she stated  defensively.  “If I wanted to  be  with him, I would be with him.   I don't need a substitute . ”

“ So the fact that I look like him isn't a factor in you wanting to be with me?”

“Look, obviously I  find you both attractive , but  he hurt me in a way that no man ever  has .   I was still  angry with him  when I met you and that  helped me to look past your appearance . I told you before , the two of you  have  very  different personalities  and  you are who I'm drawn to.”

James put his glass on the table then took Clara’s out of her hand and did the same.  He moved closer to her on the couch.

“Is that so?”  He asked as he slipped a hand through her hair to rest at the back of her head.

Clara almost thought he was going to kiss her, but then she remembered what he had said on Sunday morning, no kissing until they  were  done working together.

“That is so.”

“Well I'm drawn to you too.”  He  eased  closer.   “In fact,  your scent is intoxicating.”

He moved closer still and Clara wondered how did they get from the conversation they were having to her wanting so desperately for him to kiss her.   His lips were now just  a few short  inches from hers  and if she leaned forward ,  she could  finally taste  him.

“I can’t stop thinking about all the things I want to do to you .”  He moved his mouth next to her ear .  “How I want to fuck you in every room in this flat. ”

She shivered at hearing him talk this way.   It was always a turn on for her and he knew exactly what to say to make her feel aroused.

“ I want to  bend you over this couch and make you scream so hard the neighbours will be jealous.”

“James,” she sighed as he placed a  tender  kiss  behind her ear .  “You’re such a fucking tease.”

“You’re the one who said no dessert. ”  He answered between kisses down her neck  and  his hand  sliding up her side under her top.

“ Yes and you seem to be skipping dinner.”   She hissed as his hand began  massaging  a breast.

“But dessert is so much tastier.”   His other hand was now making  its  way to join the first and she couldn’t stop from tilting her head to give him better access  to her neck.

She needed so much more than a snog on the couch and she thought two could play this game.   She placed a hand on his thigh and slowly slid it up until she felt the bulge in his trousers.

“Ooh, you naughty girl,” he purred.   “I told you no pleasure for me until  we’re done working together.”

“I wanted to be sure it worked.”  She  rubbed him a little harder.

“I assure you, my dear,” he said as he moved one  of  his hands down to move hers away.  “It works. ”

He held her hand and placed it further down on his leg before he moved his back to under her top and leaned in to kiss her neck again, but this time Clara pulled away.

“Sorry, no dessert for you if I can’t have any.”  She said as she stood up.

James whimpered and reached a hand for hers.

“No.  I mean it.  I’m not going to be teased like that.”

“Did I tease you on Saturday night?”  He asked as he stood.  “Because I’m pretty sure you had a good release more than once.”

“And that was lovely,” she said as she straightened his tie.  “But I need more.  So as long as you’re holding out, I'm doing the same.”

She walked towards the lift.

“Well at least let me make you dinner,” he said as he followed her.

“Thank you, but I think it’s best if I go home.”

“Okay, but let me call my driver to take you.”  He said as he pulled his mobile out of his pocket. 

“That’s okay, I’m going to take the tube and clear my head a bit.”  The lift doors opened and she stepped in.  “I’ll call you later this week to go over some final approvals.”

The doors closed and she gave a heavy sigh.  That took every ounce of her will power to walk away.  She would’ve loved nothing more than to have a repeat of Saturday night, but she knew she needed to make him work harder for it.  He needed to know he couldn’t always get what he wanted.  She also needed to find a way to get these two brothers together since it all seemed like their fight was one big misunderstanding.  Just how she was going to do that would prove to be an even bigger challenge.


	19. Chapter 19

Clara got off the tube and looked at her watch.  It was nine and she wondered if it was too late to go see Amy.  She knew her friend would likely yell at her for how stupid she had been, but she really wanted her advice.  She took out her mobile and decided to ring her instead.

“Hey stranger.”  Amy said when she picked up.

“I know, I’m a horrible friend.”

“Yes, but I still love you.  What’s new?”  Amy asked.

“Well I was wondering if I could stop by for a  cuppa .  I know it’s late, but I could really use some Amy time.”

“Absolutely.  It’s not like I have work tomorrow and Charlotte doesn’t seem to want to go to bed any time soon.”

“Great, I’ll be there in a few.”

It wasn’t too long before Clara walked into Amy and Rory’s and was greeted by a walking baby. 

“Look at you, swe e t girl!”  She said as she picked Charlotte up and gave her a hug.  

“Yep, she’s on the move now,” Rory said as he walked into the hall and took the baby from Clara.  “Amy’s in the kitchen.  I’m going to see if I can get this one to bed.”

Clara went to find her friend, who was in the process of putting the kettle on when she walked in.

“Okay, which one did you shag?”  Amy asked, as Clara hugged her.

“Neither.”

Amy eyed her suspiciously. “Which one did you mess around with then?”

God, she hated how she couldn’t get anything past her.  “James.”

“Sit and give me details.”

Clara sat at the table and told her about her night with James.  She didn’t go into great detail, but enough that she definitely had a pretty clear picture.

“Wow, so he didn’t want a helping hand from you at all?”  Amy questioned as she handed Clara a cup of tea and sat across from her.

“No.”

“That’s weird.  Maybe he can’t get it up.”

“No it was definitely up, but it’s like some sort of control thing, I think.  Anyway, I’ve made it clear to him tonight that nothing is happening between us until he wants to actually fuck me.”

“Good for you.”

“Thanks, but here’s the messed-up thing.  The Doctor saw James dropping me off the next morning and it was pretty obvious I was coming home from being out all night.”

“Oh no!  Did they fight?”

Clara then went on to tell Amy what happened in front of her flat.

“Wow, so he actually punched him.”  Amy sounded surprised that the Doctor would do such a thing.

“Yeah, hard enough to make James hit the ground.”

“And James is okay with the fact that your ex is his twin?”

“We’ve talked.  I made it clear that he is not a substitute.”  Clara answered.

“And are you convinced that that is true?”  

“Of course!  Amy, I don’t want to be with the Doctor that way because I’m not interested in a relationship right now and neither is James.”  This is what she wanted and she felt very sure of that.  

“You’re just opening yourself up to be hurt again.  You know that, right?”

“I just think keeping things casual allows me to not be hurt.  When I wanted the relationship, that’s when my heart got broken.”

“Clara you can’t let one bad experience turn you off of relationships forever.”  Amy stated.

“I’m not saying forever, Amy.  I’m just saying for now.”  Clara assured her.  “When I’m ready for more, I’ll move on.”

“Sure, okay.”  Amy replied, clearly not convinced.

“Amy, I mean it.  Maybe settling down and getting married isn’t for me, okay?  Can you just let me have my fun?”  She  said slightly angry.

“Okay, I didn’t mean to  upset you.  I just want what’s best for you.”  Amy  replied.

“Well how about let me decide that and if I make mistakes along the way,  then that’s on me.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.  “I'm sorry.  I guess it’s that I'm so happy being married and  a mum that I  want that for you too.”

“And I may have that one day, but I just don’t want it now.”

Clara didn’t like getting mad at Amy, but she needed her friend to stop making her feel guilty for wanting something different than her.  The two moved on from the current topic of her love life and on to Charlotte’s newfound talent of walking.  Clara had debated about telling her about James and John’s past, but opted not to given how she clearly wasn’t a fan of either man.

“So how has Rose been?”  Clara asked,  curiously.  The two girls were still not on speaking terms and Clara really wanted to rectify that.

“She’s good.  Was really  angry with me for  a while for not telling her about the  affair ,  but we talked and I explained my side of it.   She’s starting to calm down a bit about it.  You should try and call her.”

“I've tried a few times, but she won’t answer.”   Clara said as she stared into her cup.  “I don’t know what to do Amy.”

“What about going through JD?  They seem to be doing really well, maybe he can convince her,” she suggested.

“It’s worth a shot, I guess.”  It really was the only option to try and make Rose speak to her again.

\---------------

The next day Clara called JD to find out what the best course of action was for Rose.  He suggested that maybe she should just turn up at her house, as it had worked for the Doctor.  However, she didn’t have to as Rose sent her a text message asking if they could talk.  Turned out Amy had called Rose and convinced her to reach out.  Clara suggested they meet for coffee the next day and Rose agreed.  So she now found herself sitting in a café wondering if this was how the Doctor had felt the first time they met after their argument.  She spotted Rose when she walked in and waved at her to get her attention.

“Hi,” Rose said as she approached the table after ordering her coffee.

“Hi,” Clara responded hesitantly.

Rose took a seat and both didn’t say anything at first, unsure of how to start.

“How have you been?”  Clara asked.

“Not bad,” Rose replied coolly.

It had never been that bad between these two.  Sure they had had small spats during uni, but nothing that ever lasted this long or where either of them was so cold to the other.

“Rose, look, I know saying sorry isn’t going to be enough, but I am truly, truly sorry for what I did.”

“I know you are, but I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t have told me the truth, Clara.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.  You were already going through so much pain at finding out that the Doctor was cheating; I didn’t want to add to it.”

“I just don’t know how I can trust you again.”

“And I get that, but Rose have I ever lied to you before?  I didn’t even know that the Doctor was Allan.”

“I just feel like such a fool, Clara.  You knew for weeks before I found out that he was even cheating.”  Rose stated.

“Yes, but it wasn’t my place to tell you.  He took the cowardly way out Rose, but I tried to get you to talk to him, even before I knew he was cheating.”

“I know,” Rose sighed.  “Have you forgiven him for what he did?”

“I have,” Clara answered honestly. 

“But, how could you?  I know how badly you were hurting at that time.  How could you just act as if it never happened?”

“Because hate is foolish.  I was very angry with him for a long time, but when  I  met with him to find out about James, I realised that  I was only hurting myself by holding on to all this anger.  I haven’t forgotten what he did, but I do forgive him.”

“Do you love him?”  Rose asked.

“I was definitely going down that road, but those feelings died the moment I saw him and you together.”  Clara answered.

“And how do you feel about him now?”  

“I care about him, but I don’t love him.   I can’t open my heart to him like that again.”

She really truly felt this way.  She had been thinking about James more and more each day and was actually looking forward to their working relationship ending.  Although she was seeing the Doctor in a different light these days, she really did consider him a good friend and didn’t want that to change.

“And you’re really working with his brother?”  Rose questioned.

“I am, yeah.”  Clara smiled at the thought of James.

“You like him.”  Rose said.

Clara didn’t answer but instead just looked down to avoid her friend’s stare.

“Oh my god you do!”

Clara looked up and smiled and nodded.

“How does he feel about you?”

“The same.”  Clara answered.

“Are you guys dating?”  Rose asked, her icy tone dissipating.

“No, god no!  We’re not looking for anything serious.”

Rose just shook her head.  “You definitely have a thing for these men Clara.  And they definitely have a thing for you.”

The two girls started chatting and it almost felt like old times.  Almost.  Rose was clearly still holding back, but it seemed like she was a little friendlier with Clara now.  After about an hour, Clara noticed the time and the fact that she needed to get back to work.  

“So are we okay, Rose?”  She asked feeling like it was but wanting to be sure.

“You’re right about forgiveness Clara.  I have forgiven most everyone else, except for you and Allan, so maybe it’s time to put all of this behind us so we can move on.  We’re not a hundred percent, but we’ll get there.”

They hugged and Clara felt like a weight had been lifted.  She could finally put the whole ordeal of last year behind her.  There were no more lies and she couldn’t have felt happier.  Now she just needed to sort out James and John and all would be right in her life. 

During her walk back to the office she came up with an idea that would either work or backfire in her face.  Luckily, she was feeling so good after her meeting with Rose that she was confident it was the best plan ever.  The first person she called when she got to her desk was James.

“Hello beautiful,” he said as he answered.

“Hi,” she answered with a smile.  “You busy?”

“For you, never.  What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to stop by my place for a drink tonight?”  She knew he wouldn’t turn her down, especially because he would think Clara meant more than just a glass of wine.

“In the mood for some dessert, are you?”

“I’m in the mood for a drink, with you.  I told you, no action until you’re ready to put out.”  She made her intentions clear.

“Alright, fine.  What time did you have in mind?”

Clara made the arrangements with him and after she got off the phone with him, she made another call.

“Hi,” a friendly Scottish voice answered.

“Hi, I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time?”  She asked.

“Just grading papers, so you’ve caught me at the perfect time.  I was falling asleep.”  The Doctor answered.

Clara chuckled.  “Well I won’t keep you from your nap.  I was wondering if you wanted to come by tonight and listen to a couple of albums I bought on the weekend?”

The Doctor was surprised at  her offer and wasn’t about to turn down this opportunity to be alone with Clara, listening to music in her flat.  It would be the perfect chance for him to show her the old him, the one she had fallen for last year.

“That sounds great.  What time?”

And just like that her plan was in place.  She would finally get these two to sit down and resolve their differences.  She hoped.


	20. Chapter 20

Clara was starting to doubt her plan.   What was she thinking wanting to bring both brothers here?  They were going to have World War  Three once they realised she had tricked them.  A knock came to her door and  a feeling of dread hit the pit of her  stomach.  Too late now.   She wasn’t surprised to see who was the first to arrive.

“Hi,”  she greeted the tall Scotsman.

“Hi,” he replied as he walked in.  “I hope you don’t mind but I brought a bottle of wine.  Thought we might enjoy it while we listen to music.”

“That’s great,” she answered anxiously and took the bottle from him.

Her nervousness didn’t go unnoticed by the Doctor.   He wondered if it was because she wasn’t sure where this night was going to go or for some other reason.  He had really hoped  her invite had meant that she might be a little more open to the idea of giving him another chance, but he was trying hard to not get his hopes up.

“Uh, have a seat,” she told him.   “Feel free to pick out an album.”

She walked into the kitchen and  put the bottle down on the counter and then took a couple of deep breaths.  

“Get it together Oswald,” she whispered to herself.

She glanced at the clock on the microwave and noticed that James was late.  Of course he would be.   She was starting to realise that he always wanted the upper hand and that was something she was going to have to be more aware of with him.   She  took a couple of glasses  out of the  cupboard and  opened the bottle of red shiraz .  As she was pouring ,  she heard the familiar music of Royal Blood coming from her living room.

“Shit.”  

Of course he would pick that album.  He had bought it for her and it was their concert that had led her and him to come back here and shag like a couple of teenagers.  She thought she had made it clear to him that she wasn’t going down that road with him again, but clearly she needed to do it again.  She inhaled deeply and grabbed the wine.

“I thought the idea was to listen to something  you  hadn’t heard before ,” she said as she handed hi m a glass.

“Well I haven’t listened to these guys in a while.”  He smiled at her.  “And I have very fond memories of the last time I did.”

He gave her a look and it was one that Clara hadn’t seen from him in a very long time. He was flirting with her and she  needed to be straight with him, otherwise he was going to get hurt.

“Doctor, look…” She was cut off by another knock at the door and if she thought her stomach had dropped when the Doctor arrived, it had all out vacated her body and ran to  the other side of the planet .

She got up and walked to the door, but before she opened it, she turned towards the Doctor.

“I’m really sorry about this.”

“What?” He asked confused, but very quickly realised why when she opened the door.

“Hey beautiful.”  James leaned forward and placed a kiss on Clara’s cheek without noticing who else was there.

“Uh, hi,” she answered, apprehensively .

James pulled back and finally saw the Doctor who was now standing behind Clara.

“Clara, I don’t know what you had planned, but I’m not really into this sort of thing,” James said.

“Clara?”  The Doctor questioned, not acknowledging his twin’s comment.

Clara stood between the two men and looked at the Doctor.  “I’m very sorry, but the two of you need to talk.”

“I don’t need to say anything to him,” the Doctor spat.  “This was all a trick, wasn’t it?”

“I didn’t know how else to get the two of you in the same room together.”

“How about ask!”  He shouted.

“Would you have come if I did?”  She  yelled  back.

“Maybe!”

“No you wouldn’t have because you’re stubborn.”  She turned to James.  “You both are.”

She now looked between the two of them as she started to take control of the situation and felt a little more confident that she could handle this.

“Now, I know the truth from both of you about what happened and you two need to sit down and talk!  Listen to each other and understand that what you are mad about is nothing but a big misunderstanding.”

“I didn’t misunderstand anything!”  The Doctor yelled  and pointed a longer finger at James.  “Seven years of my life were wasted because of his selfishness!”

“And I never knew you went to prison!”  James yelled back.  “How was I supposed to know?!”

“Exactly!  Because you took off and never looked back!”

“Fuck you!  You don’t know the half of why I did what I did!  If you had just come with me, everything would have been fine!”  James shouted.

“And like I told you back then, I wasn’t fucking running when we were both innocent!”  The Doctor roared.

“And how well did that work out for you!  You wouldn’t have spent that time in prison wasting  Ma  and  Pa’s  money if you had!”

“Don’t you dare bring them up !”  The Doctor’s right hand balled into a fist.  “ They both died not knowing what happened to you!  And where were you then?  Who had to deal with that?  Me!  On my bloody own!”

“Do you not think that I feel bad about that?!   It  haunts me every day of my life!”   James roared.

Clara had stepped aside, fearing she might be in the line of fire if fists started flying.  However, she knew she needed to get them to calm down and actually talk.  Right now all they were doing was screaming back and forth and not actually listening to each other.

“I don’t think you feel anything!  You’re a greedy  fucking  arsehole  who only ever cared about himself!”

“Fuck you!”  James hollered and turned towards the door.

“Don’t!”  Clara yelled ,  getting James to turn back.  “Don’t you dare leave this room!”

“Clara,” James started to say, but Clara stopped him.

“Shut it!” She cried.  “Both of you just shut up!  Enough with the bloody yelling!  Now, if either of you care about me, you will sit on that couch and listen to what the other has to say.  No screaming, no shouting, just talking and listening.  Can you do that?”

James glared at the Doctor, who was returning the same icy stare.  Neither of them made a move and Clara wondered if they were both just a lost cause.  

“Please,” she urged.

“Fine.”  James moved past the Doctor to the couch.

The Doctor stared at Clara and  couldn’t refuse the pleading look in her stare.   “How do you do that with your eyes?”

He turned and sat  on  the chair across from the couch and Clara  walked over to the stereo to turn the music off before she sat  on the opposite end of the couch.   The tension was so thick in the room you could practically  cut it with a knife , but she was relieved she got them to this point.   Now she had to suddenly become some kind of magic counselor and get them to talk without shouting.

“ Okay,  Doctor,  why don’t you start by telling James  what happened.”   Clara suggested.

“He knows what  happened ,” the Doctor  grumbled.

“ I know now, thanks to Clara, but I had no idea before. ”  James answered.

“ It doesn’t matter because even if you had known you wouldn’t have come back.”

“ Bullshit.  I would have been back here in an instant to help  you.  Have you completely forgotten how we always had each other’s back?  How if one of us got in trouble the other was there to defend them ?   You honestly think I wouldn’t have done that then?”

“I think you were far more interested in saving your own  arse  than  you were mine.   Why else would you have taken off like that ?”   The Doctor spat.

“And you don’t know why I had to run. ”  

“So enlighten me.”

“I had gotten caught skimming money off the truck collections.  I thought I could get away with it, but  one of the other guys  found out and instead of snitching on me, he started making me do his dirty work.  When word got out that I didn’t set that fire he would have gone to the bosses and told them what I had done and you know what they would have done to me.”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at James, not completely sure if he believed him.   “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because I didn’t want to drag you into that mess.  I thought I could fix it on my own, but it was clear that I wasn’t going to and running seemed like a good idea at the time.”  James sighed and ran a hand through his short hair.  “When I got to New York, I called Mickey and he told me that everything was fine.  You had been arrested, but had only spent one night in jail.”

“Mickey Callaghan?”  The Doctor asked.

“Yeah.”

“He was the reason I went to prison.”  The Doctor muttered.

“What?”  James replied ,  shocked ,  and shook his head.  “How?”

“Turned out he was working for the  McLeans .  He paid someone to be an eyewitness and to finger me for the job because they wanted someone to pay for it.  Then he tampered with evidence just so I would be found guilty.”  The Doctor answered.

“That son of a bitch.”  James swore.  “He lied to me so I wouldn’t come back.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.  The men, clearly trying to process what had been said, just stared down at Clara’s coffee table as if it were the most fascinating thing in the room.

“I’m really sorry, Allan.”  James said sincerely.

The Doctor looked up and surveyed his brother.  He could tell he meant it and he was surprised at how hearing those three little words helped ease his anger slightly.  However there were still a lot of questions that needed to be answered.

“If you knew everything was okay, why didn’t you ever come back or at least reach out to us?  Ma was devastated and I know she never got over it.  I don’t know if I can forgive you for that James.”

James slumped his head down, unable to look at anyone.  “I’m not proud of the things I did, but I did them because of you ,  Ma and Pa.”  He looked up.  “I know you might think that it was easy for me, but it wasn’t.  I was nothing but trouble back then and I knew if I came back you wouldn’t have the life you should have.  Look at you.  You’re a goddamn professor!  That’s exactly what you should be.  And sure it may not have been easy for you to get there, but you got there.  I would have kept you from that.  I was nothing but trouble and everyone was better off with me gone.”

“Don’t you think we should have been the judge of that?  Don’t you think that we deserved to know where you had gone?  It nearly killed our parents, what with me in prison and them not knowing if you were dead or alive?!”  The Doctor started to raise his voice again, but then took a couple of calming breaths.  “If it weren’t for the fact that I walked past your face on the cover of some business magazine  a few years  ago , I  wouldn’t have known anything.”

“I know that simply saying sorry isn’t going to fix this, but I am genuinely sorry, Allan and it kills me that I can’t apologise to Ma and Pa, but I want to make it up to you.  Just tell me how.”  James pleaded.

“You can’t make it up to me.  I also can’t just forget about it.”  The Doctor stared at his brother.  “Why James?  Why didn’t you come back?”

James inhaled deeply and then looked down.  “Before I left, I stole more money.”

“How much?”  The Doctor asked.

“Fifty thousand pounds.”  James answered quietly.  

“Jesus Christ!  How the hell did you do that?!”  The Doctor exclaimed.

“I intercepted a drop off from one of the new guys.  Told him I would take the money to the warehouse.  I knew by the time the  Doyles  figured out it was me; I would be long gone.”

The name suddenly triggered Clara’s memory.  The guy from the charity dinner that had clearly unnerved James.

“The  Doyles .”  Clara said and both men looked at her as if they had forgotten she was in the room.

“Yeah, that was the family we worked for.”  James answered.

“That was the man from the dinner we went to.”

“How do you know that?”  James asked.

“When you went to the washroom, he spoke to me.”

“What!?  Clara you never told me that.”  James said sounding slightly worried.

“Because he left right after and I didn’t want to ruin your night.  I honestly didn’t think it was that important.”

“What did he say?”  James asked.

“He told me to tell you the  Doyles  are happy you’re back.”

“Shit James!  If they know you stole that money from them then they are going to want it back.”  The Doctor said.  “Is that all the guy said, Clara?”

“Yes.  I’m sorry James, I didn’t know what he meant.”

“It’s okay.  How could you have known.”  He pulled out his mobile.  “Excuse me a second.”

He walked towards the door and stepped out into the hallway, leaving Clara and the Doctor alone.

“You okay?”  Clara asked.

“Yeah.  Just a lot to take in.  I also thought all of this was behind me.”

“But don’t you see how it’s not entirely James’ fault that he didn’t defend you?  How it was all a misunderstanding ?”

“A lot more happened than just that.”  The Doctor replied.  “I can’t forget what he did, Clara.”

“I understand that, John.  But what about forgiving him?”

“I can’t do that either.”

“Forgiveness can go a long way to help with healing.  Trust me.  I couldn’t forgive you for the longest time, but once I did, I felt a weight lift  off my shoulders .  I forgave you for breaking my heart, John, but I will never forget that you broke it.”

The Doctor sighed.  “There’s just so much that he did Clara.”

“So start by forgiving him for this one thing that wasn’t his fault.”

James walked back in and  sat  on the couch again.  

“Everything okay?”  Clara asked.

“Yeah, I just got River to look into a few things for me.  In the meantime, I’m just going to keep an eye out for the  Doyles  and be a little extra cautious until I clear this up.  If it’s money that  they’re  after than I should be able to just pay them back and be done with this.”

“Why did you come back here, James?”  The Doctor asked.  “You had to have known they wouldn’t let something like this go.”

“I honestly thought after all this time they would have moved on from it.”  James looked at his brother.  “Look, Allan, I don’t know what I can do to make any of this up to you or even if I can, but I am truly sorry for everything that you went through and that I wasn’t there to help.  I also understand that you hate me and don’t want anything to do with me, so perhaps we just agree to stay out of each other’s way and be civil if we do cross paths.”

“I don’t hate you James, I just don’t like you very much.”  The Doctor glanced at Clara who gave him a knowing nod.  “But I do believe you when you say you would have been here had you known I went to prison, so I  think I can work towards  forgiv ing  you for that.  I just don’t know if I can for the other stuff.”

James looked at him surprised and smiled.  “It’s a start.”


	21. Chapter 21

Clara was surprised that her plan had worked.  Well, sort of.  She had at least gotten the brothers to stop fighting and be civil with one another, which seemed like a difficult feat to begin with.  There was still a lot of anger on the Doctor’s part, but she was happy that he agreed to think about going to James’ grand opening of his new ice cream shop.  He wasn’t too thrilled when he heard that James was in the business of ice cream, but James told him it was the only thing he knew and it was natural that he would start that kind of business.  They didn’t talk much about it before James got a call from River and  needed to go .  When Clara was alone with the Doctor again, she apologised for tricking him into coming over, but he forgave her and understood she meant well.

It was now late Friday afternoon and this evening her campaign was going to be presented to the office and a few of James’ executives. She would have a chance to showcase all the hard work she had done over the past few weeks and then on Monday everything would be launched, just in time for James’ grand opening in a couple of weeks.  

“You all set?”  Donna asked as she walked  into  the boardroom.

“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” Clara answered.

“Well it looks good, Clara.  And for the record I think you’ve done a great job.”

“Thanks.”

The two women walked out of the room together, Donna heading towards her office and Clara going back to her desk to grab her bag before she headed home to change  for  the small office party.

“Looks like someone has an admirer,” Sherrie said as she approached.

“Huh?”

“You got flowers.”

Clara looked at her desk and sure enough there was a giant bouquet of lilies, roses, and mums.  She picked up the tiny envelope to look at the card.

**_ Looking forward to tonight. J _ **

Clara smiled, and thought that for someone who wasn’t interested in being a boyfriend he sure knew how to woo a woman.  Not many men had bought her flowers and she felt touched at the gesture.

“So who are they from?”  Sherrie asked.

“Just a friend.”

“Wouldn’t happen to be a certain sexy, rich, older man would it?”

“No,” Clara answered as  she  picked up the bouquet and her bag.  She didn’t need to explain anything to her co-worker.

She made it home and had just enough time to have a shower, and do her hair and makeup.  She hadn’t been sure if she would see James after the party tonight, but she was pretty confident after the flowers that he was just as anxious as she was about moving things forward.  She was now focused on finding the perfect outfit for the night as she needed it to be both professional and alluring.  After about a half an hour she was sure she had found the right outfit, a sapphire blue pencil skirt that stopped just above her knees, a black satin camisole top, and a black three-quarter sleeve length black blazer.  She finished it off with a pair of strappy black stiletto heels, wanting to add some height to her short stature.  With one final look she got her bag and headed out the door.

She arrived back at work and made sure that everything was set for the small party.  The TV was ready and the various print ads were blown up and on display around the room.  Finger foods were laid out and  champagne  was chilling and ready to be served.  Donna and some of her  colleagues  were starting to gather, all congratulating her on her first campaign and offered encouraging words that it was sure to  be  a success for her client.  She was just in the middle of chatting with one of the web designers when she spotted James and River, along with a couple of other people come in. She excused herself and made her way over to them.

“Clara this looks great,” James said as he shook her hand.  It didn’t go unnoticed by her that he gave her a very quick once over and a sly grin.

“Thank you.”   She smiled.

She greeted River and the rest of their entourage  and  then made sure everyone had a drink and met Donna.   While the rest of the group were chatting, James pulled Clara aside away from the rest of the crowd.

“You look fucking hot, my dear ,” he practically growled.

“You’re looking pretty dapper yourself ,” she replied.  “Thank you for the flowers by the way.”

“You’re very welcome.   And well deserved.  This campaign is going to be hit, Clara.  I just know it.”

“I really hope so. ”

“Clara, you’ve never introduced me to your client ,” Sherrie said as she approached  them.

“Well, Sherrie this is James.  James this is my colleague  Sherrie.”

“Nice to meet you,” James said as he shook  the intruding woman’s hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Sherrie responded as she  touched his shoulder with her opposite hand and  ran  it  down his arm. 

She was very clearly  trying to  flirt with James and Clara was very curious to see how he would respond.

“Wow, you have very strong arms, James.  You must work out. ”  Sherrie continued squeezing his bicep.

“Thanks.  I try, but sadly not as often as I would like.   I was actually hoping to get a work out in tonight after this.  It’s been far too long since I’ve worked up a good sweat.”

Clara nearly spit her drink out, knowing full well what he meant.

“Well ,  if you ever need a work out  buddy , let me know,” Sherrie  offered and Clara was sure she was offering more than to spot him at the gym.

“Thanks, but I already have  a  partner .”

“Okay then.”  Sherrie looked around the room .  “Oh, there’s Martin from accounting.  So sorry but I need to chat with him about some things.   Lovely to meet you James.”

She walked off and Clara was surprised at how quickly she gave up.

“You shut her down pretty  fast .”

“I'm pretty sure she took my partner comment to mean I'm taken .”

Before Clara could reply to him Donna got everyone’s attention.  She motioned for Clara to join her at the front, so she left James and made her way through the people.  Once she was by her side, Donna gave a short speech about the company and how happy they were to work with  Mondasian  Ice Cream then she turned it over to Clara to introduce her ads and the concepts behind  them .  Clara spoke from the heart as she had put a lot of effort into this,  and it was very evident she was p roud of her work and was happy to show it off.   After  the commercial played, James spoke a little about how happy he was to have found this company and how he appreciated the hard work Clara and the rest of the team had put in for his grand opening.  When the speeches were over, Clara mingled with more people and some of James’ colleagues before she found herself alone with River.

“Nice work, Clara.”  River held her wine glass up to her and they clinked glasses.

“Thanks.  It’s been a great campaign to work on and I really hope that the  business  is  as successful here as  it  has been in the US .”

“I’m sure it will be.”  River glanced around the room and then moved a little closer  to  Clara.  “It hasn’t gone unnoticed to me the way you’ve been looking at James tonight.”

Clara was about to protest, but River cut her off.  “It’s okay.  I have an eye for this sort of thing and I’m sure no one else has noticed.  I just want to tell you to be careful.”

“River, I’m not entirely sure what I should be careful about.”

“I’ve seen what happens to the women he’s with and  it  usually ends with them being heart broken.  I like you Clara ,  and I don’t want to see that happen to you.”

“And you’re so sure he’s going to break my heart and not the other way around?”  Clara asked.

“I’ve known him for a very long time and I’ve never seen that happen.  He doesn’t do relationships and I don’t think he’s about to start at his age,” River warned her.

“I know what I’m getting into and trust me, I’ve already let one Smith brother hurt me ;  I’m not going to let another.”

River eyed her for a moment and Clara felt like she was being assessed.  “You are definitely different from other women he’s been with.  They haven’t been as  strong  minded as you.”

“Ladies,” James said as he appeared at Clara’s side.  “What are you two chatting about?”

“You,” River said.

“Well ,  that’s a boring conversation.”  

“You’re right, it was,” River replied and then finished her glass of champagne.  “Well ,  I have a flight to catch tomorrow and I  have  some things I need to finish before then.  Clara thank you for everything.  It looks great and you’ve done a great job.”

She shook Clara’s hand and then leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.  Then she turned to James and hugged him.  “You behave yourself and try to stay out of trouble .”

“ Always,”  James  replied .

She said her final goodbyes and  told them  that she would be back for the grand opening to see just  how  successful the campaign was.

“So how much longer do we have to stay here?”  James asked once River was gone.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I was hoping to finally cook dinner  for you, ”  h e responded.  

“Why don’t you go on ahead and once I finish up here, I’ll come over.  That way we aren’t leaving here together.”

James agreed that was likely a good idea and went to talk to Donna, while Clara chatted with some co-workers.  After about twenty minutes she noticed that James was gone and most of the people.   She and  Donna cleaned up , then Clara went to the washroom  to freshen  up before calling an Uber to take her to  James’  place.   Once  she got in the car, she  texted  him to tell her she was on her way . 

She stared out the window and started contemplating  if she  should actually give into James tonight or not.  She knew he was likely going to expect the  night to end in sex, but maybe she should hold out on him; make him work a little harder for it.   But then her mind started drifting to the way he looked in his suit tonight and  to the amazing things he did with his tongue and she knew she wanted it just as badly as he did, so why should she deny herself.  There would be plenty of time for her to make him  beg for it.

When she arrived at his building the concierge gave her access to his private  lift .  She did one final check of her make up in the mirrored walls before the doors opened to his penthouse.   She stepped off and could smell something delicious, which kind of surprised her as she thought he was all talk about his cooking ability and  quite  honestly ,  she thought he’d want to jump right to dessert.  She walked down the hall towards the kitchen and  smiled when she saw James standing at the stove stirring something in a pot.  He  had taken his suit jacket  off,  and rolled up  the sleeves of his blue oxford , but still had his tie on,  which for some reason Clara found incredibly sexy.

“Hello handsome,” Clara said  getting his attention and he turned and smiled at her , dropping the spoon from his hand and walking towards her.

“ And hello sexy lady.”   He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and leaned down to place a  kiss on the nape of her neck.

“Smells great.”

“It most certainly does,” he replied as he sniffed her neck and kissed it again.

“I meant the food,” Clara giggled.

“Me too,” he answered as he pulled back and winked at her.

He walked over to the counter and  picked up  a bottle of red wine , that had already been opened,  then poured it into two glasses.  He handed one to Clara and told her to have a seat , while he finished  dinner .   She noticed that he had done his best to set a romantic scene with candles and soft slow music, leaving very little doubt as to where this night was going.   She decided to sit on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island and watch him work.

“So what are we having?”  She asked.

“I’m afraid nothing too fancy as I didn’t have much time to prepare something.  So I just whipped together a chicken salad.”  He took a plate of strawberries out of the fridge and set them down while he poured the contents of the pot into a bowl.

“Is that chocolate?”

“It is,” he answered.  “I thought maybe we could have chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.”

“I thought you’d be wanting something else for dessert,” she said suggestively.

James grinned at her.  “I didn’t want you to think that tonight was only about that.”

“How nice of you.”  She glanced around the room.  “You definitely know how to seduce a woman, that’s for sure.

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet, my dear.”  He started dipping the strawberries and Clara found herself mesmerized by the way he would dip each berry and twirl it in the chocolate, letting it drip from the tip before moving it to the plate.  “Which brings me to something I want to talk about before this moves any further.”

“James, I know you don’t want a relationship and I told you I’m fine with that,” Clara assured him.

“I know, and that's not what I want to talk about.  What I want to talk about is protection.”  He finished with the berries and put them in the fridge.  “I want you to know that I am completely clean and I haven’t been sexually involved with anyone in almost a year.”  He picked up his wine glass and moved around the counter and leaned on it near Clara.  “And as long as you and I are having sex, I will not have sex with anyone else.  I’m not opposed to condoms, but I just prefer not to.”

“Oh,” she responded, understanding where he was going with this now.  “Well ,  I too am clean and I’m on the pill, so I’m okay with that.  But just so I’m clear, this isn’t a relationship, we are not committed to each other, yet you don’t want me sleeping with anyone else?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”  He lifted his hand and placed it on the side of her face.  “I’m saying I won’t sleep with anyone else, but I’m not asking you to do the same.  I would like if you didn’t, but I’m not going to force you to do that.  What I do ask is that you tell me if you do sleep with someone else.”

“Okay.”  This was probably one of the strangest conversations Clara had ever had with someone before she slept with them.  He was being completely transparent, which was odd for someone that was so mysterious.

“I also want you to tell me when you want to t his to end .”

“You make this sound like a business deal.  Are you going to go all fifty shades on me and pull out a contract to sign?”  Clara joked, kind of.

“No,” James laughed.  “It’s not that kind of arrangement.  I just want it to be clear that if at any point you think you want more than what I can give you, then this needs to end.  I’m not the marrying guy, I’m not the dinner  with your  friend’s guy, I’m not the Sunday morning market guy, and I’m most certainly not the meeting your dad guy.  I’m the guy you want to have fun with.  I’ll wine and dine you as much as you like, I’ll fuck you as much as you like, but I will not settle down for anyone.”

“Good,” Clara answered very seriously.  “Because I don’t want that guy.  I want the guy who’s going to bend me over this counter and fuck me so hard I scream.  Fuck me so hard I hurt the next day.”

James stared into her eyes and she could see his turn dark with desire.  She had hoped what she said would be a turn on for him and it looked like it was.  He slid his hand through her hair ,  lightly  grabbing  her head and before she knew what was happening, his lips crashed into hers allowing her to taste him for the first time.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank everyone for commenting and leaving kudos. It's really encouraging and motivating :) Sorry if I don't get a chance to respond to everyone, but work and life has been very busy. Now on with the story and a note that this chapter is NSFW.

Clara knew their first kiss wasn’t going to be a gentle caress but rather a full-on assault of her senses.  She could see the fireworks in her mind, feel his hands in her hair, smell his earthy scent of spices, taste the wine he drank with a hint of chocolate, and hear his low groan.  She sensed it all and wanted more.  She wanted to touch and taste every part of him, feel him inside her, and she didn’t want to wait for any of it.  She wanted it now and she was going to have it. 

Their tongues were twisting, flicking, caressing, and dueling for dominance.  Clara felt James trying to push her blazer off, so she stood, moving her arms and letting it drop to the floor.  Her hands flew to his tie, loosening it and then pulling it free.  His hands had moved from her hair to her face and were now travelling down her sides to her hips, and around her ass, pulling her into him.  She could feel his stiffness pressed against her and she moaned into his mouth.  She didn’t care about foreplay at this point, they had been doing that for weeks, she just wanted him and she wanted him now. 

“James,” she panted as she pulled away.  “Fuck me.” 

He didn’t say anything, but just gave her a wicked grin before his tongue plundered her mouth again and he moved his hands down her thighs, pulling her skirt up.  Clara reached for his belt buckle, almost expecting him to stop her, but he didn’t.  She frantically yanked it free and carefully pulled his zipper down before she reached in and touched his silky hard member. 

“Aghhhhh,” he hissed into her mouth. 

She pulled him out and began stroking him.  He groaned and then with both hands, he pushed her skirt up, tore her thong off with one quick motion, and then lifted her onto the island.  Clara barely had time to register what was happening, it was so fast and he didn’t once take his mouth away from hers.  She sighed when she felt his fingers run through her folds and he moaned at finding out how ready she was for him.  He gripped her hips and pulled her forward while Clara was fervently working on the buttons of his shirt, desperate to touch his skin.  She tugged it out of his trousers just as she felt the tip of his cock rub and push against her entrance. 

“Fuck,” James groaned as he plunged into her, giving her a moment to adjust to him before he pulled back out again. 

A quick rhythm began as he started thrusting faster and faster, getting harder and deeper with each move.  Clara had had a lot of sex and a lot of it was passion filled, but never like this.  Never so quick and so intense that she was sure she would come faster than she ever had.  It felt so good to have him inside her, to feel that pressure start to build in her core.  James began kissing her, nipping at her bottom lip, holding her hips so tight she was sure she was going to have bruises the next day.  She wrapped her legs around his backside and started meeting him thrust for thrust. 

“James,” she cried.  “I’m so close!” 

He moved a hand around and started rubbing the bundle of nerves that would be sure to send her over the edge. 

“Yes!”  She cried. 

“That’s it sweetheart.  Let go.” 

He rubbed faster and harder and Clara’s breathing became more ragged and her moans louder.   

“Fuck James!”  She screamed as she finally felt her body convulse and then explode. 

Her cries only made him pump faster until she felt him throb deep inside her.   

“Claraaaaa!”  He shouted and gave a couple of more thrusts before he leaned on her trying to catch his breath. 

She pressed her forehead to his and wrapped her arms around his back, holding him tightly. 

“You have no idea how much I needed that,” he said, breathlessly. 

“Oh I think I have a very good idea how much we both needed that.” 

She felt him soften as he eased out of her and he pulled his trousers up that had only managed to make it down as far as his arse.  He picked her up again and moved them over to the couch where he sat and brought Clara down onto his lap. 

“Give me some time and I’ll be good to do that again, but perhaps a little slower next time.”  He chuckled. 

“Good because as sated as I’m feeling now, I’m going to need more after we eat.”   

“Are you hungry?” He asked. 

“Not right at this moment.  I’m feeling all high and euphoric right now.” 

James ran his hands up her back under her top.  “Me too,” he smiled. 

Clara was running her hands up and down his chest, hardly believing that she just shagged her client.  Although technically not anymore, but to her it was still the same and she didn’t really care.  She had needed that so badly and now that she had had a taste of it, she needed more.  They stayed in their position enjoying the moment, but it wasn’t long before Clara’s stomach growled and she realised that she hadn’t really eaten much today. 

“I think your stomach is trying to tell you something,” James chuckled. 

“Yeah, I think the last time I ate was breakfast.” 

“Well then, let’s fix that,” he said as he lifted Clara off his lap.   

She stood up and straightened her skirt.  “I’m just going to run to the loo for a second.” 

When she walked back in, she saw that James had filled two plates with salad and refilled their wine glasses.  She smiled at seeing how disheveled he looked, with his hair tousled, and his shirt hanging loose and undone. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so hot,” she said as she entered the room. 

“Are you blind?  I’m a mess,” he answered as he glanced down at himself. 

“Nah,” Clara replied as she walked up to him and ran her hands down his bare chest.  “You look like a man who had a good shag.” 

She grasped the top of his trousers and pulled him into her as she caught him off guard with a kiss.  He returned her passion, briefly, before he pulled back. 

“You need to eat before we do that again.  Trust me, you’re going to need the energy.”  He winked at her. 

The pair sat at the dining room table to eat and chatted about nothing in particular.  James asked Clara about some of her co-workers he had met that night and what she would be working on next.  Once they were finished eating, James took their plates and put them in the dishwasher, then took the strawberries out of the fridge.  He put them on the counter, which Clara came over and picked up to take with her to the living room.  James followed her after he uncorked a bottle of champagne and filled two flutes.  He handed her a glass as he sat next to her on the couch. 

“So what should we toast to?”  Clara asked. 

“To amazing sex,” he grinned mischievously at her. 

“I have a feeling I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into with you,” she answered as they clinked glasses. 

“Well, remember I told you I would show you just how salacious I am?  I can give you a little taste tonight, if you want,” he offered, not once taking his eyes off of hers. 

She quirked an eyebrow at him wondering just what he had in mind.  She was pretty open to a lot of things, but she did have limits. 

“Maybe.  What’s going on in that mind of yours?”  She asked. 

“So many things,” he grinned.  “For starters you have way too much clothing on, my dear.” 

“Me?  What about you?” 

James stood up and took his shirt off, tossing it on a chair across the room.  Clara couldn’t help but gawk at the sight of him bare-chested, with his belt hanging open on his trousers. 

“Better?”  He asked. 

“It’s a start.  Lose the slacks and I'll be happier.” 

“Fine.”  He pulled his socks off first, then pulled his trousers off, leaving him in only a pair of black cotton boxer briefs that clung to him in all the right places. 

Clara noticed the top of a black circle poking out of the band of his pants just near his right hip. 

“What’s that?”  She asked as she pointed at it. 

“You’re not the only one with ink,” he replied. 

“Let me see.” 

“No.  You’ve got me this undressed, now it’s your turn.” 

She stared at him, giving him her puppy dog eyes that always worked on men. 

“You can look at me all you want with those big brown eyes, you’re not getting what you want.” 

She turned it up a notch and fluttered her long lashes at him. 

“Clara I didn’t make it this far in business by caving at a look from a beautiful woman.  Now, strip and I'll show you what you want to see.” 

She glared at him, contemplating her next move.  He wasn’t like most men she’d been with who would roll over with a flash of a smile and her big brown eyes.  She was definitely going to have her work cut out for her with him. 

She leaned forward and picked a strawberry up, flicking her tongue out to lick the chocolate that was on the tip.  She swirled her tongue around it then sucked it in between her lips, all while not breaking eye contact with James who was giving her his best poker face.  Problem was, there was another part of him that was giving away just how much she was arousing him. 

“You know, I have something here that wouldn’t mind receiving the same treatment you’re giving that berry,” James said as he glanced down towards his groin. 

“I don’t know, this chocolate is very good.”  She licked her lips. 

“Oh, is it chocolate you want?” 

James walked back towards the kitchen and Clara watched him as he opened a drawer, then the freezer.  He came back and handed her a spoon, while he took the lid off a container of ice cream and tossed it on his coffee table. 

“I'll make you a deal.  I'll lose the shorts and let you try this ice cream, but I want to give you a treat first.  Can I do that?” 

Clara eyed him, curious as to what he wanted to do to her.  “Okay.” 

“Great, now come here.” 

She stood up and James took the spoon from her and placed it in the container before setting it on the table.  He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her into him, kissing her passionately.  Clara felt James' hands slowly slide up her hips to her top where he started pulling it up.  She lifted her arms and they broke their kiss long enough for him to remove her camisole.  He took a moment to admire the sight of her naked breasts before his lips descended on hers again.  This time, he brought his hands around to her back and pulled the zipper down on her skirt.  He pushed it off her hips and it dropped to the floor, leaving Clara naked in his living room wearing only her black strappy stilettos. 

“Gorgeous,” James said as he took a step back and admired her.  “Now, lie down on the couch.” 

She did as she was told, but only again because she was curious as to where he was going with this.  Once she was in position, James moved over and sat at the end of the couch lifting her feet onto his lap.  He gripped her ankle and ran a hand up her smooth leg, while he removed her shoe with the other.  He then brought his hand down and rubbed her foot before he repeated his actions with the other. 

“Now, close your eyes,” he whispered. 

She shut them and found that the darkness heightened her other senses.  She was focused on the music that was still playing in the background, but also trying to figure out what James was doing.  She felt him get off the couch, but she couldn’t quite hear what he was doing.   

“I'm not sure if I trust that you’re going to keep those eyes closed,” he said from behind her head. 

She felt something silky touch her forehead.  “Is it okay if I cover them with my tie?”  James asked. 

She had never been blindfolded before and the thought slightly thrilled her. 

“Yes,” she agreed. 

James wrapped the tie around her eyes, making sure she couldn’t see. 

“This okay,” he asked in her ear. 

“Yes.”   

“Good.”  He sucked her ear lobe into his mouth. 

The man had barely touched her and she could feel her arousal building.  He stopped what he was doing and once again she had no idea where he was until she felt something cold and wet being drizzled over her abdomen, up towards her breasts and then around each nipple.  It was a weird sensation as the creamy liquid oozed over her body, the coolness causing her to quiver, but that feeling was soon replaced by James’ tongue licking the path he had just created.  Leave it to the ice cream man to incorporate the frozen treat into sex.  

“Ooh, that feels really nice,” Clara said as James reached her breasts and was licking all around her nipples, but not touching them. 

“Taste good too,” he replied.  “I may have to create a new flavour called choco-clara.” 

She giggled, but it quickly turned into a moan as his mouth latched on to one of her nipples and began sucking her clean.  She began to squirm as her excitement grew and the need for more of him rose again. 

“God James, your tongue is incredible.” 

“Thanks luv,” he mumbled with his mouth full.  

She could feel his hands running over her stomach and down one thigh, then the next, but never going to the spot she needed him to touch most.  Suddenly, she felt nothing and whimpered at the loss, but it wasn’t long before she noticed the couch dip near her feet and her legs being lifted and placed on his shoulders. 

“I hope you’re saving some of that ice cream for me,” she said as she heard him eating. 

“Uh huh,” he responded, clearly with his mouth full. 

Clara was anticipating his next move, but what she didn’t expect was how cold his tongue would feel and the shiver it would send up her spine as he finally began licking her.  She had never experienced anything like this before and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she had her second orgasm of the night. 

“Ohhhh my goddd!”  Her hands flew to his head and her hips were thrusting trying to get closer to his tongue that was pushing in and out of her. 

James picked up on her cue and sped up his actions sending her into a spiral of ecstasy screaming his name with her release. 

“Good?”  James asked as Clara sat up and took her blindfold off. 

“So good,” she sighed. 

James scooped some ice cream out of the container and held the spoon out to her.  She opened her mouth and he watched as she wrapped her lips around it. 

“Oh, that is delicious,” she moaned. 

“Tastes even better when it’s served on you,” he playfully grinned. 

“Yeah, and how about off of you?”  She took the container from him. 

“Only one way to find out,” he answered as he stood up and finally pulled his boxers down. 

Clara wasn’t surprised by what we she saw, after all she had been with his identical twin, and identical they were, but she was still in awe of his manhood.  Even semi erect he was big and she couldn’t wait to run her tongue all over him. 

“I take it you like what you see,” James said, standing there as confident as he would if he were in a suit. 

“Very much,” she replied.  “But tell me about this.” 

She brought her hand up and caressed the circular tattoo on his hip bone.  It looked like a symbol of some sort, with smaller circles and lines inside a larger circle. 

“Not much to say.  Got drunk, got that.” 

“It’s interesting.  Does it mean anything?” she asked as she traced the pattern with her index finger. 

“Yeah, it’s ancient Gaelic for drizzle some melted ice cream on my cock and lick it clean.” He smirked at her, sounding the most Scottish she had ever heard him. 

He clearly didn’t want to tell her about it, so that would have to be a mystery to solve another day.  Right now all she cared about was devouring the deliciousness dangling in front of her. 

“Is that so,” she said as she took a scoop of ice cream and ate it.  “I’m not sure if it will taste good that way.”  

She put the container down on the floor next to James' feet, then reached both hands up to grasp his legs.  She positioned him so his member was in front of her face and she blew some cool air on him before she took a hand and wrapped it around his shaft.  She looked up and saw James close his eyes and tilt his head back the second she touched him.  Gently, she stroked some more life into his appendage, making him grow harder and longer before she leaned forward to swirl her tongue around the head.  James groaned, which encouraged her to take all of him in and down her throat. 

“Sweet Jesus!”  he gasped.   

She pulled up and gave him a few bobs of her head before she took another spoonful of ice cream, letting it melt in her mouth before she descended on him again. 

“Holy fuck!”   

She was sure he was feeling the same sensation she felt when he did it to her as he twitched in her mouth and shrank just a little at the coldness.  However, it wasn’t long before he was firm again and one of his hands was tangled in her hair at the back of her head. 

“Clara, uhhh, I'm going to, ahhhh,” he hissed and grabbed at her shoulder. 

She stood up, but continued stroking him as he crushed his lips against hers and drove his tongue into her mouth.  He grabbed her waist and lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her arms and legs around him as he walked them back to a nearby chair and sat.  Without breaking their kiss, Clara raised her hips and took hold of him again and ran the tip of his member through her folds before she plunged down onto him.  Both groaned at the contact, Clara clenching his shoulders as she started riding him and James started kissing down her neck to her breasts.  She wanted to take her time, but he felt so good buried deep inside her that she couldn’t stop herself from bouncing faster and slamming harder down on him. 

“Ooh luv, slow down,” James moaned and grabbed her hips to hold her in place.  “I'm going to cum if you keep that up and I want to savour this.” 

“You’re cock just feels so good and it’s been too long since I’ve been fucked,” she sighed as she started kissing his neck, pressing her chest against his. 

“Me too, sweetheart, which is why I need to slow it down,” he ran his hands up her back. “This, right here, feels incredible.  Your beautiful pussy engulfing my cock, all warm and wet for me.” 

He lifted Clara slowly, then brought her back down even slower, setting the pace.  “Doesn’t that feel incredible?” 

“Oh my god yesss,” she hissed and closed her eyes. 

“Look at me,” he ordered and she opened her eyes again.  “Describe it to me.  Tell me what you feel.” 

She wasn’t sure if she could put it into words.  No one had ever asked her to do that.  She started to really focus on the actions and then the sensations. 

“Full.  I feel full.” 

He continued lifting her up and down on him, picking up the speed with each motion, staring so deeply into her eyes that she felt like she was baring her soul to him. 

“What else?”  He panted. 

“Electric.” 

This was probably the most intense sex she had ever had and she knew it was because he hadn’t taken his eyes off hers.  Her breathing was getting more laboured and she wanted nothing more than to explode around him. 

“Please, James,” she begged and was sure she felt him twitch inside her when she did. 

“You want to cum?” 

 “Uh-huh,” she whimpered. 

“Cum for me.”  He let go of her hips and fondled her breasts, latching his mouth on to each one. 

She grasped his shoulders again and started riding him vigorously, moaning and whimpering with her need to climax.  After a couple of more pumps she erupted with a scream and shortly after James followed her over the edge.  She fell forward onto him, with his member still inside her, trying to catch her breath.  James ran his hands up her back trying to calm her down and to get his breathing under control too.  Both of them were a sweaty mess, but neither minded. 

“Wow,” Clara said as she sat up and kissed him. 

“I take it you feel good?” 

“So fucking good.  You?” 

“Un-fucking-believable.  But I think I'll feel better after a shower,” James answered. 

“I'm with you on that.” 

He stood, slipping out of her, and carried her to his bedroom where he put her down and went to run the shower.  Once they finished cleaning up, Clara wasn’t sure if she should head home or stay the night, but James answered that for her when he asked if she wanted something to sleep in.  Both opted for nothing, and climbed into bed feeling completely exhausted and sated.  James pulled Clara into him, wrapping an arm around her waist and it wasn’t long before she heard him lightly snoring.  She smiled, feeling happy, but perhaps a little apprehensive at what she was getting herself into with him.  She enjoyed tonight very much and anticipated a lot of experimenting, but she sensed that he was used to having his way in the bedroom, which was something she very much liked to control.  For now, she was simply going to enjoy the ride and when she was ready, she’d flip the script on him, that she was sure of. 


	23. Chapter 23

Bright light streaming through the bedroom window woke Clara up a lot earlier than she would want on a Saturday morning.  It was now that she  realised James didn’t have any blinds in his flat and they undoubtedly had given the  neighbours quite a show last night.  She rolled over and saw that James was still fast asleep, laying on his side with the sheet just covering up to his waist.  He looked so sexy and Clara knew she would end up shagging him all day if she stayed in this bed any longer.  As tempting as that sounded, she needed to have the upper hand with him today since she let him have his way last night.  She needed him to know that she wouldn’t always be at his beck and call.  Slowly, she pulled back the sheet and eased out of bed, then looked around for something to wear.  There was nothing and she didn’t want to go searching through James’ drawers, so she walked out into the living room and found the blue oxford James had discarded the night before.  She then looked for her mobile to see if there were any messages from last night.  Sure enough, she had two.  One from Amy and one from the Doctor.  She checked his first.

**_ Doctor:  _ ** **_ Want to get coffee tomorrow? _ **

She didn’t know what to do.   After the last time she saw him, she knew he was interested in more than being friends and she didn’t want to lead him on.  However, at the same time, she knew she needed to address that and make it clear to him that she had moved on.

**_ Clara:  Sure, but not until after  _ ** **_ 2. _ ** **_   Meet me at my place? _ **

It was nine now and she wanted to make sure she had enough time to get home and change.  She didn’t expect a response right away, so she went into the kitchen and decided to make some coffee.  She was searching through  the cupboards looking for the things she needed, when she heard a cough.

“Morning,” she said as she  turned around and saw James standing there shirtless and wearing only a pair of faded jeans.

_ Be strong _ , she thought to herself.   _ He may look hot as hell, but you are stronger than  _ _ your libido _ .

“Morning,” he grinned.   “Need a hand?”

“It would seem I do.   I was trying to make coffee.”

James walked over  and stood behind her to open the cupboard in front of her.  He leaned into her back as he reached up and  took a  tin of coffee out,  sniffing her neck as he did it.

“You look completely  fuckable in my shirt,” he whispered in her ear.

Why did this guy have this effect on her?  She needed to be strong and not fall for his seduction , but he looked so bloody hot right now.

“I do believe you said something about being fucked over this counter .”

He set the coffee down and then placed both his hands on her hips, pressing into her more and showing her just how ready he was for her.   _ Maybe one quick shag would be okay _ _ , she thought _ .  He brought his hands down to the bottom of his shirt and started caressing her bare thighs.  She couldn’t help the quiet moan that escaped her lips and she knew there was no sense in fighting it because she clearly wanted it as much as he did.  She pressed back into him more and wiggled her  butt , eliciting a groan from him.  He lifted the shirt up and started running his hands over her bare buttocks, squeezing her cheeks as he kissed the nape of her neck.  

“You have such a beautiful ass, sweetheart,” he growled in her ear.  “Seeing you like this has made me so hard.”

He reached a hand around and ran it between her legs and she instinctively parted them, granting him better access.

“Feels like you’re just as ready as I am.”  He continued coaxing her.

“So ready,” she sighed.

He moved them back and eased her forward, so she could grab the counter for support.  He quickly undid his jeans and Clara moaned when she felt him rubbing his manhood against her.  Then, in what felt like one move, he lifted her right leg and sank deep into her before quickly pulling out again.James thrust hard and fast, hitting that special spot every time he drove into her.  Her breathing was getting shorter and her moans louder, which only seemed to urge him on more.

“Fuck Clara,” he  panted .   “I don’t know how much  longer I can last.”

He reached his hand around , coaxing the release out of her,  slamming into her harder than any man had.  This was raw, carnal sex and by god, if she didn’t love it.   Finally , after a few more thrusts, she erupted around him and he followed soon after.

He eased out of her, as she stood upright on very shaky legs.   James turned her around and  cradled  her in his arms , sensing that she was about to fall over.

“God Clara, you’re like a drug.  I can’t seem to get enough of you .”

“I know the feeling,” she smiled against his chest.

“What are you doing today?  Because I'm thinking we should stay here and shag like bloody rabbits.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I have plans.  Or at least I think I do.”  She pushed away from him to get her  mobile .

James tucked himself in his  jeans , washed his hands, then  started making the coffee,  that  Clara had been trying to make.   Clara picked up her phone and noticed that the Doctor had texted her back.

**_ Doctor:  Sounds good.  See you then. _ **

“Yeah, sorry, but I have plans.”  She replied as she gathered her clothes that were around the living room.  

“Too bad.  Do you have time for some breakfast?”  He asked , pulling eggs out of the fridge.

“That, I do.  As long as it’s just breakfast.”  She smiled at him.

“Promise, I need some time to recover, luv.”

“And I need a new thong,” she said holding up her torn one from last night.

James grinned with pride, “I will very happily buy you all the lingerie you want , my dear.”

She laughed and walked off to the bathroom to get cleaned up and dressed, coming back twenty minutes later to see James serving breakfast.  They sat at the island and ate before Clara noticed the time and had to leave shortly after finishing.

“So when will I see you again?”  James asked as Clara was waiting for the lift.

“Sooner or later,” she answered trying to be nonchalant.  

“Tonight?”

“Down tiger,” she replied, running her hand down his bare chest.  “Give me some time to recuperate.”

He grasped her hand and brought it up to his lips.  “Every time you touch me,  I just want to take you against whatever surface is available.”

The lift arrived and Clara gave him a quick kiss before she stepped into it.  

“I’ll call you later.”  She said as the doors started to shut.

“You better,” he replied just before they closed.

\----------------

Two o’clock on the dot and the Doctor was standing outside Clara’s flat.  He really needed to come across as not being so eager, but he couldn’t help it, he just wanted to be in her orbit.  He knocked on her door and waited for her to answer.

“Hey,” she said as she opened the door, looking like she had just showered.  “Just give me a minute to dry my hair.”

“Late start to the day?”  He asked as he stepped in.

“You could say that,” she replied not wanting to give him too much information and walked off towards her bedroom .

The Doctor eyed her suspiciously, not wanting to know what she was up to last night to cause her to not be ready earlier.  It irritated him to no end that she was likely  with his brother and there was nothing he could do to stop her.  He knew James wasn’t right for her, mostly because she deserved to be with someone who would treat her right.  He wanted so badly to show her that he wasn’t the man she thought he was and that she could trust him, but that was going to prove to be more challenging now that James was in the picture.

About thirty minutes later the pair were sitting in the coffee shop, drinking lattes and catching up on their work week. 

“So, if you’ve launched James’ ads, does that mean you’re done working with him?”  The Doctor asked.

“It does,” she answered, not giving him any more information.

“But I assume you’re still going to be seeing him.”  The Doctor stared into his cup unable to make eye contact with her.

Clara knew she needed to address the issue of the Doctor showing up at her place the last time she saw him, ready to try and take things to the next level.  The last thing she wanted to do was  give him  the wrong message , and even though she thought she had been clear about her intentions, it seemed she wasn’t clear enough.

“Doctor, I think we need to talk,” she said and he looked up at her.  “I know that you don’t want to hear what I’m going to tell you, but I need you to understand where I stand with you and James.”

“Fine,” he answered.

“I’m not looking for a relationship.  I thought I wanted that with you, but after what happened, I don’t want to put my heart through that again.”

“Clara, I’m sorry,” he cut her off.

“Enough with the apologies.  I know you’re sorry, but it’s how I feel.  I told you that I want to be friends with you, and I meant that.  I enjoy spending time with you, but being intimate with you is not something I can do.”

“But you can do it with someone who looks just like me?”

“You may share a face, but you are two very different men.  I’ve been around both of you long enough to know that.  And before you say it or think it, I’m not using him as a substitute for you.”  Clara said very matter of fact.  “James is also offering me what I want right now.”

“And what is it you want?”

“I want to be with someone, but not have the emotional crap get in the way.”

“I could give you that,” the Doctor said quietly.

“No you can’t and even if I thought you could, I’m not ready to open my heart up to you that way.”

It didn’t go unnoticed by the Doctor that she said she wasn’t ready, meaning one day she might be.  

“Can we just be friends, Doctor?”

It was only about a year ago that he was offering her the same thing and she had turned him down.  Now here they were, her offering what he wanted then and he wasn’t sure if he could do it.  However, the alternative meant that he wouldn’t have her in his life and that was something he wasn’t willing to give up.  Maybe if he was just patient enough and went along with being friends, he could be there for her when James inevitabl y  breaks her heart.  Not that he wanted her to get her heart broken again, but he knew his brother and it was more than likely how their relationship would end.

“I’m willing to try,” he finally answered.

“Good, so as my friend do you want to go to the grand opening of an ice cream shop?”

“I don’t know, Clara,” he sighed.  “I may have forgiven James about not being my alibi, but I just can’t forgive him for everything else.”

“I’m not asking you to.  I’m just asking that you come and see the business he has created.  Extend an olive branch, as they say.”

“I don’t want to extend an olive branch,” he replied grumpily.

Clara flashed her big brown eyes at him, pleading.

“Seriously, you and those damn eyes.”  The eyes may not work on James, but she knew they would work on  the Doctor.   “I think as friends; you shouldn’t be allowed to use those against me.”

“Does this mean you’re going to come?”  She asked.

“It means I need to learn how to say no to you and those damn eyes, but yes, I’ll go.”

He felt like he was likely going to regret his decision, but if it meant that he would get to spend time with Clara, he would be willing to see his brother again.  It would give him an opportunity to see the two of them together and to see just what their relationship was about.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. I had a very busy week last week, which ended with me meeting Peter Capaldi on Saturday and Sunday in Toronto. So needless to say my mind has been a little preoccupied. But back on track and on with the final 2 chapters.

The day of James’ grand opening had finally arrived and Clara was excited to see just how well the advertising had worked.  She hoped more than anything that it would be busy and all of her hard work wasn’t for nothing.  She was also looking forward to seeing James, as it had been almost a week since she last saw him.  Since they had opened the flood gates, so to speak, she had been spending a lot of time at his place satisfying the needs they had been depriving themselves of.  Like any new relationship, they couldn’t seem to get enough of each other and it didn’t seem to matter where or time of day.  They had done it in the lift, his home office, the tub, the shower, the dining room table, any surface they could find.  However, it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Clara that they never seem to do it in bed, which was something she would eventually get to the bottom of, but for now she was just enjoying the fun adventurous sex.

She was currently staring at her closet of clothes wondering what she would wear, when her mobile dinged.  She looked at it and saw that the Doctor had sent her a message.

**_ Doctor: I’m running late at a seminar.  I’ll meet you later. _ **

She had arranged earlier in the week to go with the  him  to the opening, mostly because she didn’t trust he would actually show up if he went on his own.  Now she suspected he was trying to weasel out of it again.

**_ Clara:  Your arse better be there otherwise I will kick it all the way back to Glasgow if it isn’t. _ **

A couple of minutes passed before she got a response.

**_ Doctor: _ ** **_ It will, I promise. _ **

She didn’t believe him, but there was really nothing she could do.  For now she needed to finish getting ready before she ended up being late herself.

She had just stepped outside when she noticed James’ driver waiting in front of her building with his car.  She was surprised because James hadn’t told her he was sending him, but she hadn’t heard from James in over a day and assumed he must be incredibly busy.

“Hi Paul,” she said as she approached.  “James didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“Oh, I thought he would have,” Paul replied.  “I guess he must have gotten distracted.”

He opened the back door for Clara and she climbed in, taking out her mobile to check her emails.  She appreciated the moment to get caught up on some work and not having to take the tube.

\---------------------------

The Doctor hated that he had agreed to go  to  this stupid opening and wished he had just said no.  Now he was stuck at this seminar with JD and not even able to go with  Clara  on time. 

“Want to grab a pint after this?”  JD whispered to him.

“Can’t,” the Doctor whispered back.

“Hot date?”

“No.”

The Doctor didn’t elaborate and instead just focused on getting through the next twenty minutes, knowing that once the seminar was over, JD would be full of questions  and  he wasn’t  exactly in an answering mood.

Sure enough, as soon as they were free to go, JD was following him out.

“So you don’t want to share what your plans are?”

“No,” the Doctor answered.

“Do these plans include Clara?”

“None of your business.”

“That’s a yes ,” JD  replied smugly.  “Come on Doctor, you can tell me if you’re spending time with Clara.  Rose and I practically have money on how long before you two  hook  up again.”

“Seriously?!”  The Doctor questioned.

“Yes.  We all know you two are meant to be together.  Hell, Rose has even come around to the idea.”

“Well you can all stop thinking that, because Clara has made it very clear that she wants nothing more than friendship.”

“Sure, but given time she’ll change her mind.”  JD  urged.

The Doctor didn’t want to tell him that that was what he was secretly hoping for.  He would never admit that to anyone.

“Doubtful,” he responded as the two men reached the outside.  “Look, I’m late, so I  really need to get going.  Can we do drinks next week after work?”

“Aye, sounds good.  Tell Clara I say hi.”

The Doctor made his way to a major street and hailed a cab.  Luckily, he w ouldn’ t end up being as late as he thought he might be.   Now he just needed to prepare himself mentally for seeing his brother again and more importantly, seeing him with Clara.

He arrived at James' shop in no time at all.  It was a small shop not far from  Covent Garden , which would inevitably draw in a lot of tourists .  He could see that a nice size crowd had gathered, but he couldn’t see Clara anywhere.   He finally spotted James talking to two women, but again no Clara.  He  thought for sure she would have been here before him, which would have made talking to his brother a lot easier.   He stood off to the side, taking in the crowd, a mix of  the  old,  the  young, and  families.  It looked like Clara’s campaign was a success and he felt a swell of pride for her.   He waited another five minutes and decided to bite the bullet and talk to James.   As he  approached, one of the women caught  sight  of him and her expression broke into  surprise .

“Well I'll be, you two really are identical.”  River exclaimed.

James turned and looked at John, giving him a slight smile and nod.

“I did tell you we were twins ,  River.”  James  replied, then extended a hand towards the Doctor.   “Thanks for coming.”

The Doctor hesitated for a moment and then took his brother’s hand.

“Yeah, well Clara can be quite persuasive.”  The Doctor responded.

“That she can,” James answered.

“James ,  aren’t you going to introduce your brother?”  River asked.

“Yes, of course.  Allan this is my VP, River Song and her cousin Missy.”

“It’s John actually, or the Doctor.  No one calls me Allan anymore,” he replied as he shook the women’s hands.

“The Doctor,” Missy said.  “Are you one?”

“Of sorts.  I’m a  lecturer  at U of L.”  The Doctor replied, not very interested in having small talk with people he didn’t know.

“And people really call you the Doctor?”  Missy asked.

“Practically everyone I know.”

“Fascinating,” she answered.

“Not really,” the Doctor replied, getting bored very quickly with this situation.  

“And what exactly do you teach?”  River asked.

He was in Hell, there was no other explanation for the current torture he was enduring.  All he wanted was to see Clara and she wasn’t even here.

“Media,” he replied.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” Missy asked.

“Allan never was much of a people person,” James chimed in. 

“I really wish you’d stop calling me that,” the Doctor said, clearly annoyed.

“It’s how I know you, but if it makes you happy, I’ll try and call you John.”

“Thank you ,” the Doctor replied .

There was an awkward silence for a moment, no one seemed sure what to talk about.  The Doctor kept glancing at the door hoping to see Clara walk in , but no such luck.

“So where’s Clara?”  The Doctor asked.  “ I  thought for sure she would have beaten me here .”

“I'm not sure.  Maybe she’s stuck on the tube. ”  James postulated and took his mobile out, just as the Doctor did the same.

Both men went to ring her at the same time and when the Doctor realised what they were doing, he  stopped.  James was the one who should call her, not him.  It’s something he had to get used to.

“No answer,” James said as he put his mobile back in his pocket.   “She must be underground.”

“Aye,” the Doctor said, but not completely sure.

“I'm sure she’ll be here soon,” River said.  “She wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

“Who’s Clara?”  Missy asked, completely oblivious as to who they were talking  about.

“ She’s the girl who worked on the ad campaign for the shop, which I might add has been a huge success ,” River answered.  

“She did a fantastic job,”  James added.  “I just hope she gets here soon to see it.”

James glanced at the Doctor and despite the  fact that they had been separated for so long, he knew that James was worried too.

\-------------

Clara hadn’t looked up from her mobile once while Paul was driving.  She had some ideas for a new campaign and wanted to get them all down before she forgot. It wasn’t until she finished and decided  to check her email again,  she  noticed she  didn’t have any reception and looked up.   She immediately noticed that they were  nowhere  near  where they were supposed to be going .

“Paul, what’s going on?”  She asked, trying to sound calm and hide her concern.

He said nothing to her, but instead kept his eyes focused straight ahead on the road.   As far as she could tell they looked like they were in an industrial area of  London .  She looked at her phone again and noticed there was still no service.

“Paul, pull over,” she demanded.

Still nothing from the older man.  She was beginning to panic, but didn’t want to let him see that.

“Damn it, Paul!  Pull over right now!”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that,” he finally spoke.

“What the hell are you talking about?   Pull over!”   She yelled and tried to call James.

“ That’s not going to work .   I’ve got a cell jammer,” he told her.  “ No calls out and no calls in.”

“What the fuck!? Let me out!”

“No.   I'm afraid  I need you to come with me.”

“I'm not going anywhere with you!  Tell me what the bloody hell is going on?”  She shouted.

“Look if you don’t want anything to happen to James, I need you to cooperate with me ,” he replied calmly , while still focused on the road.

“What have you done to James? ”  Clara asked worriedly.

“Nothing yet, but if you don’t calm down and do as I say,  you’ll find yourself looking for a new boyfriend. ”

Clara went quiet, thinking about what kind of danger James was in  and the images terrified her.   She had no idea what was going on, but all she knew was she didn’t want anything to happen to  him .

“ Please don't hurt him ,” she pleaded .  “I'll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt him.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well we have finally reached the end. Thanks for making it this far and for the comments and kudos a long the way. I'll give more of a reflection at the end of this chapter.

The Doctor kept checking his mobile to see if there was any word from Clara, but nothing .  The more time that passed the more worried he  got.   It wasn’t like her to be late and it certainly wasn’t like her to not let someone know.

“And  that’s  how I became  president of the world,” Missy said.

“I'm sorry, what?”  The Doctor questioned .

James and River had left him with  Missy, while they  went and  dealt with some business.  She had been talking about  something, but the Doctor wasn’t really paying attention to her.

“I  said I became president of the world.”

“There’s no such thing,” the Doctor replied very confused as to what the hell she was talking about.

“I know, but at least now you’re listening to me .”

“Sorry,” he replied, feeling bad that she  had  noticed  his lack of interest.

“It’s okay.  You’re clearly worried about this Clara girl. ”

“I am.  Again I'm really sorry.  It’s just very uncharacteristic of her.”

“And you know your brother’s ad campaign manager, well?”  She asked.

“Uh, you could say that.”

Missy nodded her head in understanding.  “Peculiar.”

“I suppose it is.”   He answered, glancing at his mobile again.

“ So if I were to ask you to dinner, the answer would be no?”

“What?”  He questioned  again,  looking up at her  and quirking an eyebrow .

“I was hoping we might go out some time, but  I can see  you’re clearly involved.”

The Doctor was caught completely off guard.  Why on earth would she want to go out with him when he was obviously thinking about another woman ?   Under different circumstances he may have said yes, but that was long before he had ever met Clara.  Sure Missy was an attractive woman, who looked to be in her late forties, early fifties, but he just hadn’t thought about being with another woman.  In his mind there was only one woman for him and he was determined to win her back.

“It’s complicated,” he finally answered to her.  

“Well, if it ever gets uncomplicated, call me,” she said as she took a business card out of her handbag and gave it to him.

He was just about to tell her that his situation wasn’t likely going to change any time soon, when James came over and pulled the Doctor aside, excusing him from Missy.

“What the hell James?”  The Doctor questioned, annoyed by his brother’s handling of him.

“It’s Clara,” he said, sounding frantic.  “The  Doyles  have her.”

“What?!”  The Doctor yelled.

James  noticed  people looking in their direction, so he moved them  outside, to  an alley behind the shop.

“I just got this message from them,” he said handing the Doctor his mobile.

**_ We have your girlfriend.  If you want her  _ ** **_ back _ ** **_  in one piece _ ** **_ , _ ** **_  meet us at  _ ** **_ 16  _ ** **_ Choats _ ** **_  Rd _ ** **_  in  _ ** **_ Barking in two hours with 1 million £.  _ **

**_ “ _ ** Son of a bitch, James!  God help you if they hurt her, I will not be responsible for what I do to you!”  The Doctor shouted.

“Me!?  I’m not the one who bloody well kidnapped her!”  James exclaimed.

“No, but you’re the reason she’s in danger!”

The Doctor was furious.  He knew James was nothing but trouble and now Clara’s life was being threatened. 

“I know!  Okay!  I feel bad enough as it is, I don’t need you shouting at me!”  James hollered  and then  took some calming breaths .   “Look,  us fighting isn’t going to help her.  I need to get  this money  and  then get to this address,  now.”

“We need to call the police !”  the Doctor exclaimed.

“No!  No police!”  James blurted out.

“You can’t deal with this on your own, James!”  The Doctor tried to reason with him.

“They’ll just make the situation worse,” James answered.  “You should know better than anyone, when it comes to these guys, you don’t know who’s in their pocket.  I have to deal with this on my own.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” the Doctor declared.

“Fine,” James said, making his way back inside.  “We’ll borrow River’s rental.”

They found River, and James pulled her aside and told her what was going on.  Without question she gave her keys over to James, who immediately ran for the door with the Doctor right behind him.

\------------

Paul pulled into a parking lot, of which Clara thought was an abandoned building.  She had no idea what was going on because Paul wouldn’t tell her anything.  All she knew was that if she didn’t cooperate with him, James was going to get hurt and she couldn’t have that.

“When we get out, I don’t want any funny business.  I don’t want to hurt you, Clara, but if I have to I will.”

Paul got out and opened the back door, pulling Clara out by the arm and leading her towards one of the entrances.  Once they were through the doors, Clara noticed there were three men who all looked to be in their  mid - forties  to early fifties.  She immediately  recognised  one of them as the guy from the charity dinner and knew that this was likely the Doyle family.

“Good work, Paul.”  The  stout  man said.   “Nice to see you again,  Clara.”

He approached her , and Clara did her best to  be brave.  She needed to be for James.

“I would say the  same, but considering I'm here against my will, I'll just say screw you.”

“Feisty, aren’t you? ”  The man  looked her up and down, and Clara got a  disgusting  feeling in her stomach.

“Where’s  James?  Is he okay?”   She demanded to know.

“As long as everyone plays their part, no one is going to get hurt.”  The man said.  “Now Paul, go lock her up in the room down the hall.”

“Should I tie her up?”  Paul asked.

“I don’t know.  Are you going to cause problems?” the man in charged asked her.

“No, I just want to be sure James is okay.”  Clara answered.

“No restraints, but do keep an eye on her.”

Paul dragged her down a hall  to  an empty room  with a  window so dirty you couldn’t even see out of it .   What little light was shining through, illuminated  the tiny space just enough for her to see t here was a broken, dusty desk in the corner  and  one wooden chair.

“Sit,” Paul ordered her as he pulled the chair out  to the  middle of the room and the pulled  something out of his pocket .   “This is a camera .”  He set it on top of the desk.  “ We'll have eyes on you at all times, so don’t do anything stupid.”

He  turned to leave, “Oh, I almost forgot.  Mobile.”

Clara handed it over and Paul left, locking the door behind him.  She immediately stood, unable to stay still, and started pacing the room.  She needed to get out of here, but how?  If she made any attempt to try the window, they would surely do something to James.  

\------------

“Damn it James, slow down!”  The Doctor yelled.

“ Slow down!?  Clara’s in danger and you want me to slow down!”  He yelled back.

“ If we crash, we’re not going to be much use to her ,” the Doctor reasoned.  “At least just take it easy on the turns.”

Truth was he wished they could go faster, but they nearly rolled on the last corner James took, and that was the last thing they needed.   He couldn’t stop thinking about what Clara was going through  and wanted nothing more than to rescue her.

“So what’s the plan?”  The Doctor asked, looking at the GPS to see they were about  fifteen minutes away.

“I give them the money and they give us Clara.”  James said.

“ Where the hell do you get a million pounds, just like that?”   The Doctor asked.

“I have the money  and I’d pay whatever they wanted just to get Clara back safe and sound. ”

The Doctor could hear the worry in James ’  voice and see just how agitated he was by how hard he was gripping the steering wheel.  He was just as scared as he was, even though he was trying to remain calm.

“You really like her, don’t you?”  The Doctor questioned.

For the first time James took his eyes off the road and looked at  him.  

“ More than I have ever liked any woman.”   He turned back to the road .  “I’ve never met anyone like her. ”

“I know,” the Doctor said quietly as he turned to stare out the window.

“ How could you fuck something like that up?”  James asked.   “ I mean, I  can be  a douche when it come s  to women, but I’d never cheat. ”

“It’s the biggest mistake of my life.  And that includes  going to prison.”

“Prison wasn’t your mistake.  That was mine.   I don’t know how I can ever make that up to you,” James said sincerely.

“You could stay away from Clara,” the Doctor replied.

James didn’t say anything at first, and the Doctor thought that maybe he was going to agree.

“Don’t you think the decision should be Clara’s as to who she wants to be with?”  James asked.

The Doctor didn’t answer because of course the decision was hers, but he didn’t want her choice to be his brother.  They drove in silence for a bit until James pulled over to the side of the road.

“That’s the building over there,” he said, pointing down the road.  “What do you think the plan should be?”

The Doctor looked at the abandoned building and thought for a moment.  “It’s a small place, I think maybe I could sneak around it and see if I can find a window to get through, while you meet with the  Doyles .  That way if I find Clara, she’ll be safe, regardless of what happens.”

“Well it’s not much, but it’s better than the two of us walking in there  together ,” James replied.  

The Doctor agreed and got out of the car, immediately taking off towards the building.  He had expected there to be men around it, but luckily the Doyle gang hadn’t gotten any smarter with age and only had one man posted near the front.  He saw James, pull in and get out of the car, then the man out front escorted him inside. He quickly ran up to the decrepit building and ducked behind some bins, looking around for a window.  He spotted one to  the  right and edged over to look inside.  It was hard to tell, but as best as he could see there was no one in the room.  He did the same for the next couple of windows, but wasn’t having much luck.  Finally, after moving around to the back, he wiped some dirt off a window and saw Clara sitting on a chair.  He gave a sigh of relief to see that she looked okay and that they didn’t actually have her tied up.  It also looked like she was alone, which would make it easier to get her out.

He tapped lightly on the glass, hoping to get her attention, but that didn’t work, so he knocked a little harder.  She turned towards him and he gave her a wave before trying to push the window up, but of course  it  wouldn’t  move.   He looked around for a rock or something to break it with, but there was nothing.  Thinking quickly he took his blazer off and wrapped it around his fist, and punched the pane with all his force, sending the glass shattering to the floor. 

“Clara!”  The Doctor yelled, as he knocked out the rest of the glass from the window.  “Are you okay?”

Clara glanced at the door to see if anyone had heard the noise and was coming in.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, afraid of being heard.  “But you can’t come in here!  They’re watching me.”  

The Doctor looked around and noticed a desk against the same wall as the window and saw a little device on top of it, that must have been a camera.

“If I climb through and stay left, they shouldn’t be able to see me,” he answered as he hoisted himself up and through the window.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” He asked again.

“Yes, but where’s James?  Is he okay?  Did they do anything to him?”  She fired the questions at him.

“As you saw on the monitor, she’s fine,” the stout man said as he opened the door.

The Doctor froze and knew there was nowhere to hide, while Clara’s heart leapt to her throat and the bottom fell out of her stomach.

“What the bloody hell is this!?”  The stout man shouted.

“I wasn’t about to walk in here without a back-up plan,” James said.  

The Doctor hadn’t seen  Sheamus Doyle, the son of the former gang leader, in over thirty-five years.  He had clearly taken over after his father had passed and was trying to settle a long overdue debt.

“I was trying to be fair, James, and then I see you and your brother were trying to double cross me!”   Sheamus yelled.

“Look you got your money!  There was no double crossing.  We just wanted to make sure, Clara was okay.”

“Get him!”  Sheamus yelled at Paul, pointing at the Doctor.

Paul lunged at the Doctor, but he quickly moved out of the way, while  Sheamus  turned and threw a punch at James , who was caught off guar d  and staggered back as  Sheamus ’  fist came into contact with the side of his face.   James shook his head and  pulled his arm back and took a swing at  Sheamus ’ side, knocking the wind right out of him  as he bent over  clenching his  ribs .

Clara jumped back once all the action started, flinching every time either James or the Doctor got hit.  She felt completely helpless until the Doctor punched Paul so hard he fell back towards her and without thinking she grabbed the chair and smashed it into her kidnapper.  Paul immediately fell to the ground unconscious, which surprised her as she smiled, proud of what she had done.

“Thanks,” the Doctor smiled at her .

“A little help over here,” James yelled as  Sheamus  had him pinned against the wall.

The Doctor ran over and grabbed  Sheamus  by the shoulders pulling him off  James  and throwing him to the ground , just as two  more  men came running in.

“ Oh for fuck sakes,” the Doctor said as he threw a punch at one of the new guys.

Sheamus  had gotten up and grabbed James again, allowing the other guy to throw punch after punch into James’ stomach.  Clara looked around and noticed a broken chair leg and immediately picked it up.  She used all her force to swing and hit the man across the head, sending him down to the ground knocked out cold.  Sheamus  was stunned by the action and loosened his grip on James, giving him the opportunity to turn and push the stout man away.  Clara then turned and watched as the Doctor delivered a couple of blows to the other man and then with a massive kick sent him flying into the wall where he hit it like a rag doll and slumped the floor.

“Nice move,” she said.  

“I may have picked up a thing or two in prison.  Just never thought I’d have to use that again,” he replied, breathless.

Clara turned and saw that James had  Sheamus  pressed against the wall with his forearm.  

“This is over!”  James yelled.  “I paid you your fucking  money.”

“Fine,”  Sheamus  answered.

“I mean it Sheamus!”  James growled as he pressed harder into the man.  “I don’t want to see you or your men around me or anyone I care about  ever  again!”

“I got it!  Just let me go!”   Sheamus  begged.

James eased off him and  Sheamus  moved towards the door.  

“Take your brother and girlfriend and get the hell out of here .”   Sheamus  said as he walked out.

James turned and looked at Clara, who was in complete shock as to everything that just happened.  He walked up to her and cradled her face in his hands.

“Are you okay?”  He asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she nodded.  “What about you?  Are you okay?”

She brought a hand up and lightly touched his jaw that was starting to bruise.

“Never mind me,” he answered as he took her hand and kissed it.  “I just want to make sure you’re  fine .”

“I might be in a little bit of shock, but other than that I’m okay.”

“We should get out of here before these three come to,” the Doctor said, bringing the two lovers out of their moment.

“ Right ,” James said as he took Clara’s hand and led her out the door with them.

The three made their way to the car, where Clara took the passenger's seat and the Doctor sat in the back.  They were all pretty silent the whole way back into the city, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the Doctor that James was holding Clara’s hand most of the way back.  He was beyond relieved that she was safe and for the most part seemed pretty unscathed by the whole thing.  However, the whole incident made him realise that despite what his feelings were towards James, he could see just how much Clara cared for him and him her.

An hour later  James pulled  on to Clara and the Doctor’s street.  Clara had thought they should go to the hospital, but both men had insisted they were fine and just wanted to go home.  James pulled the car over, parking out front of Clara’s flat and everyone got out.

“ You’re  sure you don’t want to go to the A and E?”

“Positive,” James replied.  “I just want to find out how the opening went and clean up.”

“Oh the opening!”  Clara exclaimed.  “Those wankers made me miss it!”

“And it was a complete success, luv.  Let me give River a quick call and then we can go in and I’ll tell you all about it.”  James walked off out of ear shot, leaving Clara and the Doctor alone.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”  The Doctor asked.

“I am.  Maybe a little shaken, but nothing a hot bath and a glass of wine won’t sooth.  Well maybe a shot of scotch might be better.”  She reached out and touched the Doctor’s bleeding lip.  “What about you?  You okay?”

“I’m fine,” he answered as he turned from her touch.  “Not exactly how I envisioned this day going when I agreed to go to an opening of an ice cream shop.”

“I would say not.  Is this what life was like for the two of you back then?  Because I have to say I’m happy you’ve left the world of crime behind you, if it was.”

The Doctor gave her a half smile, grimacing when he moved his lip.  “Me too.  I am way too old to be fighting like that.”

“Why don’t you come in and I can clean that up for you?”

“Nah, I can take care of it.”

“She’s a pretty good nurse.  Cleaned my lip right up after you punched me,” James said as he returned.

“Right,” the Doctor said quietly.

He looked at the pair and noticed again how, Clara was gravitating towards James.  Leaning into him, loosely holding his hand,  clearly  needing to  be near  him.  For the first time he saw what she had been trying to tell him for weeks, James was what she needed right now and it hurt him to acknowledge that.

“I should get home,” the Doctor said, not wanting to witness his brother and Clara’s relationship any  longer .

“Listen,” James said, stopping his brother from leaving.  “I know that I caused this whole mess and I’m sorry for dragging you both into it.”

“Yeah, well I just hope that it’s the end of it,” the Doctor answered.

“It is, I guarantee that the score has been settled.”

“Did you really pay them that much money, just to get me back?”  Clara asked, as the reality of the situation started to sink in.

James turned and looked at her, bringing a hand up and cupping the side of her face.  “I would have paid all of the money I have just to make sure you were safe.”

Clara smiled at him, “That’s crazy, but thank you.”  She turned towards the Doctor.  “And thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied quietly.  

Clara walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him  as  he hesitantly returned her hug.  He couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the last time he held her in his arms.  He took a moment to  savour  the memory before glancing at James who gave him a nod and the Doctor pulled away from Clara.  James stepped forward and extended his hand to him, which he accepted.

“Thanks,” James said.

“Just take good care of her,” the Doctor whispered so only James could hear.

“I will,” he whispered back

The Doctor turned , walking away from the only woman he ever truly loved  and knowing that as much as he wanted to be with her, he had to let her go.   He  couldn't  spend his days yearning for something that was never going to be  and  he  would regret breaking her heart until the day he died.   He glanced back and saw the pair walking towards Clara’s flat and as much as it pained him to admit it, she looked happy despite everything they had just gone through .   Deep down he knew James wasn’t the right man for her and that their relationship was likely doomed, but if  his brother  was what she needed to help her heal from his betrayal , he wouldn’t get in the way of that . All he could do now was be the friend she had been asking him to be since they started talking again, and if that was all he could be, it would have to be enough.

There was just one thing that kept bothering him about James.  After all this time, why did he come back?  He was hiding something and the Doctor was determined to find out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you haven't guessed it by now, there's a third story in the works. I know some of you are not likely very happy with me right now, but this story went in a direction I didn't intend to go. For those of you who write, you'll know what I mean when I say that the characters some times take over and the writer just follows. I am sorry if people feel that this is uncharacteristic of Clara, but I feel it isn't, at least for the version of Clara I'm writing. I hope you will continue on the journey with me when I start to post the 3rd part, but I understand if you don't want to. This story has been very interesting for me to write and has been great to see the feedback I've been getting about James. It's feedback I had never anicipated, so thanks for surprising me.
> 
> Thanks for sticking to the end and I hope to see you in the next story. Be sure to click subscribe to know when I start posting again.


	26. Update

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for reading Unyielding Desire.  I have really appreciated all the feedback I got on this story and I couldn't just end it here, so I've now finished the third and final part of this series and started posting it.  If you would like to continue the adventure,  click the link below and find out what happens next. 

[Absolute Desire](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21763063/chapters/51925342)


End file.
